Chris Patten's commission on policing rolled into Coleraine

Chris Patten's commission on policing rolled into Coleraine last night to hear a number of submissions.

Chris Patten's commission on policing rolled into Coleraine last night to hear a number of submissions.

Mr Patten was not present for the public meeting, held in a packed-to-capacity town hall. Facing a largely suspicious and intermittently hostile reception were: Kathleen O'Toole, a former member of Boston police department; retired London Metropolitan policeman, Sir John Smith; barrister Peter Smith QC; and a chairman, local man, Damian Hunter.

The meeting began with the evening's only submission calling for widespread changes in the RUC, from local SDLP Assembly member, John Dallat. While most people made the same point - the RUC should be unaltered - some of the questions were well phrased. One man, suspicious of Sinn Fein, wondered aloud: "Would the Italian Government allow the Carabinieri to be reformed at the behest of the Mafia?"

The evening was lightened briefly when the frequency on a radio microphone was changed, only to allow the voice of Hank Snow to warble from the tannoy.