Police don't need British military now, says chief

NORTHERN Ireland's police chief expressed confidence yesterday that his officers can cope without support from the British army.

Sir Hugh Orde revealed that there had been no reliance at all on back-up from the army for many months.

"We don't need them any more," he said.

From now on there will be no more than 5,000 troops garrisoned in the North in exactly the same way as they are elsewhere.

Crucially, they will not be for use in the North, but preparing for duties in such places as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sir Hugh said the change to normal policing had been introduced over the past five years.

"For many months now we have not relied at all on our military colleagues for support to deliver normal policing," he said.

"Indeed, for the past two years we have not deployed any military during the marching season - in stark contrast to 2005 when over 1,000 military colleagues were right on the frontline working very hard with my officers in some of the worst rioting we have seen in the history of Northern Ireland.

The Chief Constable expressed confidence that he would not need to call on the army again for such back-up.

"The world has moved on very quickly in Northern Ireland. Policing is in absolute control of policing.

"We have been fortunate to be able rely on additional resources."

Sir Hugh added: "It suits us, it suits the military - they are very busy in other theatres of war."

However, Sir Hugh said the PSNI had to be mindful there was still a "very real dissident republican threat". There was much normal policing across the province but not everywhere.

"There are still places where, sadly, a very small number of people are determined to wreck all that has been achieved," he said.

IAN GRAHAM