Statement by TUV North Belfast representative Ron McDowell:
“Today’s decision by the PPS to uphold the decision not to prosecute anyone for the Bobby Storey funeral will mean that there will be plenty among the establishment who will now see the matter as closed. The reality, however, could not be further from the truth. Real and lasting damage has been done to the standing of the police and the wider criminal justice system in the eyes of many. There are many questions which simply will not go away.
“Who were/are the Black and Whites and why do they only appear at Provo funerals?
“Why could an investigation find no evidence of the 4Es approach in the Gold Command Strategy for the funeral?
“Why didn’t the PSNI consult with the PPS during the planning of the Storey funeral, a shortcoming noted in the HMIC report?
“Why is it that when 400 gathered for Storey’s wake police were told to keep a safe distance?
“Why was the PSNI reduced to the farcical point of submitting Sinn Fein’s own video of the funeral as evidence to the PPS because their own footage was taken from so far away it was useless?
“These questions simply won’t go away because of today’s decision. Many who buried their loved ones within the letter and spirit of the law feel they have been personally insulted by how this whole affair has been handled. Frankly, it raises profound issues about the nature of the society which is being created in Northern Ireland.”