Search begins for O'Loan's successor

The search begins today for Nuala O'Loan's successor as Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

The search begins today for Nuala O'Loan's successor as Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

Adverts for the watchdog post, with an annual salary topping £100,000, will run in national and local press.

Ms O'Loan is due to stand down in November after a seven-year term where she oversaw controversial investigations and clashed with both senior police officers and unionist politicians.

"The post plays a key role in developing and maintaining public confidence in policing, and it is crucial that this competition attracts the highest calibre of candidates," Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said.

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Unionists have been bitterly opposed Ms Loan throughout her tenure, but Mr Hain said: "She has done an excellent job in difficult circumstances, especially on controversial issues when feelings have been understandably running high."

Ms O'Loan produced a damning report on the police investigation into the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity that claimed 29 lives. Her findings provoked outrage among some officers, with former chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan rejecting her assessment.

Earlier this year she published a dossier revealing how RUC Special Branch officers paid and shielded a gang of loyalist paramilitary agents in Belfast involved in up to 16 murders.