Major reform of RUC is necessary, says Taoiseach

Major reform of the RUC is necessary if the force is to be acceptable to both communities in the North, the Taoiseach has told Mr Chris Patten, the former British politician who is heading the review of the body.

Before his meeting with Mr Patten at Government Buildings yesterday, Mr Ahern said the appointment of the former governor of Hong Kong showed the seriousness with which Britain was taking the reform of the RUC.

He welcomed the fact that the policing commission would be consulting widely throughout the North, listening to the views of the public. But he added that any reform programme "has to be based on the acceptance of the RUC by both the nationalist and unionist communities". He said he would be emphasising to Mr Patten that this meant "major reform is necessary".

Mr Patten declined to comment to journalists, but said he would hold a press conference in Belfast today to explain how the commission will operate.

The Taoiseach had earlier met the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, to discuss aspects of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement. Afterwards, he said both he and Mr Hume were anxious that no one part of the agreement should be focused on to the exclusion of the document as a whole.

Asked if decommissioning remained the main obstacle to progress, Mr Ahern said much work needed to be done to bridge the opposing views on the issue.

"But the way to do it is in the context of all aspects of the agreement. If we are moving on all fronts and seeing the agreement being implemented in full, that also means that decommissioning has to happen . . . That is not going to be easy, but I believe we can do it."

Mr Hume said it was important that the Northern executive be up and running as soon as possible, "because I think once we start really working together . . . we will transform the North in a very short time".