Adams counters pressure to back Police Act

The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, has said nationalists must resist being "coaxed or pushed" into endorsing the police reform package. Pressure is mounting on nationalists to accept the Police Act.

The Irish News, meanwhile, said that Mr Chris Patten's call for the North's four main parties, which include the SDLP and Sinn Fein, to nominate members to the Policing Board deserved "a positive response".

An editorial in yesterday's editions said Mr Patten's intervention in the policing debate should be regarded with "the utmost significance". The editorial follows calls from Mgr Denis Faul and a Patten Commission member, Dr Maurice Hayes, for Catholics to join the new force, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The editorial said that a final judgment on the Act might have to wait until its implementation plan is published. Citing comments by the Catholic Primate, it said: "However, as Archbishop Sean Brady said at the weekend, while obstacles remain it is important to acknowledge the progress which has been made and to recognise that, as a result, we are closer to achieving a police service which is representative of and accepted by the whole community in Northern Ireland."

The editorial added: "Mr Patten has specifically asked our main political parties to proceed with the nomination of their representatives on the main policing board and the district policing partnerships. After all, he has contributed to the search for a new beginning, and his request deserves a positive response."

Most pressure is coming on the SDLP to sign up to the Police Bill. Before flying to London to meet the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, last night, the deputy SDLP leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, continued to hold back from giving a definitive party response to the proposals.

He said what was vital was that ordinary people had confidence that the new proposals would create an acceptable police force.

Mr Adams said the way the British government "mishandled this issue may prevent the creation of a new beginning for policing at this time but this will only delay that new beginning, not prevent it".

"There is a need therefore for all of us who have worked to achieve this to remain vigilant and to avoid being coaxed, cajoled or pushed into accepting something now which would make it more difficult to achieve a proper decent and democratic civic policing service later."

He said Sinn Fein was in discussions with the British and Irish governments on policing. While he believed the implementation plan would not satisfy Sinn Fein's concerns, the party's ardchomhairle had yet to take a formal decision on the Bill.

"A number of our leading spokespersons have expressed the view that Sinn Fein will not support the policing organisation which emerges from the Mandelson Act, and I think that is likely to be the case," said Mr Adams.