PPS set to publish review of Storey funeral

By Q Radio News

The PPS is set to publish a review of its decision not to prosecute 24 members of Sinn Fein who attended the funeral of Bobby Storey later today. 

The original decision sparked outrage back in March, leading to calls for the PSNI Chief Constable to quit over allegations of a two-tier policing system and even prompting an HMIC review. 

It also resulted in the director of public prosecutions complaining to Simon Byrne about a "confidentiality" breach after he made it clear that he wanted to see prosecutions pursued.

The PPS is set to publish a review of its decision not to prosecute 24 members of Sinn Fein who attended the funeral of Bobby Storey later todayhttps://t.co/2Cqs1cZjj6

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) June 10, 2021

Meanwhile, last month, a watchdog report into the PSNI handling of the funeral found that police prioritised public security over enforcement of Covid-19 regulations without showing bias.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said it understood why the PSNI took this approach, given the likelihood of tensions, and because regulations were confusing.

(no-one has been prosecuted for breaching Coronavirus rules at the funeral)

The funeral saw about 2,000 mourners line the streets in west Belfast last June for Bobby Storey’s funeral at a time when strict Covid-19 regulations were in place.

The inspectorate said the PSNI should have explained and encouraged compliance with regulations before the funeral took place because the service had anticipated that breaches would occur on the day.

HMICFRS also found the PSNI took a consistent approach when investigating alleged breaches at similar funerals or events and concluded that much of the public criticism of the PSNI following the funeral was unwarranted.

Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said: “The PSNI faced the complex challenge of policing a politically-sensitive funeral while also trying to interpret the confusing Covid-19 regulations.

“The service took a sensitive approach, and ultimately achieved what it set out to do – prioritising public security over compliance with the regulations.

“Due to the complex and frequently changing Covid-19 regulations, we are not confident that there was enough evidence to prove to a court that any of the attendees at Bobby Storey’s funeral had knowingly committed an offence – and we, therefore, agree with the decision not to prosecute.

“I am reassured that the PSNI showed no bias in its handling of the funeral and that the service would have taken the same approach if the funeral was held in a different community. The PSNI does however have lessons to learn from its handling of the funeral, and we have therefore made several recommendations to help it improve how it polices events in the future.”

(Hundreds of people lined the streets of west Belfast for the senior Republican's funeral)