STORMONT MINISTER for Justice David Ford is due to announce shortly who will head a review into serious allegations made by the chief executive of the police ombudsmans office Sam Pollock.
Mr Pollock is to quit his £90,000 (€101,000) per annum post at the end of August because of alleged meddling from civil servants, which he claims is undermining the independence of the office of the police ombudsman Al Hutchinson.
The resignation has come at a time when the Department of Justice, set up only last April, is already handling difficulties in the prison system, a spiralling budget problem and the dissident threat.
Mr Pollock’s resignation letter, understood to have been submitted more than three weeks ago, is reportedly highly critical of relationships between the ombudsman’s office, the PSNI and some civil servants at the department.
His criticisms relate to the period since Mr Hutchinson took over as ombudsman from Baroness Nuala O’Loan more than three years ago. Mr Pollock, it is understood, also alleges he was subjected to malicious personal attacks after raising his concerns.
Mr Hutchinson is a former assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and also a former oversight commissioner charged with ensuring the proper implementation of the Patten police reform proposals. The Patten Commission proposed the abolition of the RUC and the formation of the PSNI, which came into being in November 2001.
Mr Hutchinson, however, has rejected the claims and insisted his office is fully independent. He told the BBC on Thursday that the independence of the ombudsman was “real and practical, as demonstrated by our reports”.
Mr Ford has said: “I am committed to maintaining the independence of the ombudsman’s office. While these allegations are serious in nature, it will be important to see the concerns documented and substantiated as a first step. I plan to announce the individual who will take this forward in the coming days.”
Mr Pollock has been chief executive of the ombudsman’s office since its foundation. He has more than 40 years service in the UK criminal justice system and was awarded an OBE in 2005.
Sinn Féin, which backed the policing arrangements in 2007, said an investigation “needed to get to the bottom of this”.
Policing board member Alex Maskey said: “As I understand [it] Mr Pollock’s allegations go back to before the Department of Justice was established . . . if there is any undermining of the ombudsman’s independence it will be totally unacceptable.”
David McNarry of the Ulster Unionists said “this has left a large question mark over the ombudsman’s office and a number of senior officials at the Department of Justice”.