Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill says party support for policing 'unequivocal' after Sean Graham ruling

Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O'Neill has denied threatening to withdraw her party's support for policing in conversations with former PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne.

The MLA said she had been "crystal clear" on what she had said and her party's support for policing was "unequivocal".

Mr Byrne resigned earlier this month after the PSNI was found to have unlawfully suspended two junior officers. The judgment found he had acted in the face of a "perceived threat, real or otherwise," that Sinn Féin would withdraw its support for policing.

Following the ruling, Sinn Féin emphatically stressed no such threat was made and on Wednesday at a major investment conference Michelle O'Neill reiterated that stance.

Speaking for the first time on the matter, Ms O'Neill reiterated her opinion that the treatment of Mark Sykes during the Sean Graham commemoration was "wrong", but that she never threatened to withdraw Sinn Féin policing support.

"It did not happen and I have been crystal clear in terms of what I said to the Chief Constable, we put that out publicly", she said.

Ms O'Neill continued: "I was very clear that the incident that happened that day was wrong it was appalling and the real victim in that scenario was Mark Sykes.

"This was somebody who was the victim of a horrible atrocity many years ago and the way he was treated was appalling.

"I made that very clear publicly at the time and privately to the chief constable in term of the damage that sort of activity did to community confidence

"But never at any time did I threaten to withdraw Sinn Féin support for policing, that is unequivocal in terms of our support for the rule of law."

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