Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy was today criticised for failing to commit extra money to investigating the unsolved murders of 211 police officers.
Mr Murphy, in response to an appeal by rank and file members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, pledged to hold talks with Chief Constable Hugh Orde about how to deal with the issue.
But Mr Irwin Montgomery, chairman of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, expressed disappointment that Mr Murphy had not gone further.
He said: "I was disappointed that the money I have asked him and Government for over a long period of time - that he has given no commitment that it will be provided, and is only going to review it with the chief constable."
In his speech to 170 delegates at the Police Federation conference in east Belfast, Mr Montgomery received thunderous applause when he described the plight of the families of murdered officers as "a lingering embarrassment" to the British government.
He said the secretary of state would be in no doubt of the strength of feeling among police officers.
He added: "We have raised this issue with (British) government. It has been ongoing for a year or so, and I don't see any reason why he couldn't at least have given us some indication that he is going to look at providing the money."
Mr Murphy denied that the unsolved murders were regarded as an embarrassment by his government.
He said: "I want to talk to the chief constable about the issue involved.
Remember, he has actually said that whenever there is evidence that is uncovered and that can be used in courts and in prosecution, then he will take action on that.
"What I wanted to make sure of today was that people understand that in no way do we, as a government, regard the 211 murders of policemen and women as being an embarrassment."
The Northern Ireland Secretary pointed out the difficulties of investigating the cases. Many went back 30 years and it was vital to ensure that the right evidence was gathered to find those responsible.