Police body supports register of interests

The chief executive of the Police Authority in the North, Mr Joe Stewart, said yesterday the body favoured a register of interests…

The chief executive of the Police Authority in the North, Mr Joe Stewart, said yesterday the body favoured a register of interests for RUC officers where they would declare if they were members of organisations such as the Orange Order. The authority believed that banning recruits from membership of these organisations "raised issues of basic civil liberties and the possibility of indirect discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion", he added.

The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has said she would be consulting with various groups such as the loyal orders, the AOH and the Freemasons, before formally responding to the committee's proposals.