RUC move found no family favour

No family members of murdered RUC officers who met with Londonderry District Commander Superintendent Mark McEwan were 'fully supportive' of his abandoned plan to move a memorial to the dead policemen from the ground floor of Strand Road station earlier this year.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Aug 2016, 20:00 BST

The PSNI have conceded that there was little support for the relocation of the memorial plaque, which sparked widespread unionist indignation earlier this year.

According to details released by the force in response to queries over the controversial proposal, the PSNI said there were no minutes of a private meeting held between top North West cop, Superintendent McEwan, a number of families and local political representatives.

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“One meeting was held which included representatives from two families in the presence of representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party,” the PSNI acknowledged.

“This was at their request and was facilitated by the District Commander, Superintendent Mark McEwan,” the force added.

At this meeting it became clear that there was very little, if any, support for plans to move the memorial within Londonderry’s cityside RUC station.

“No-one who met with the District Commander could be said to have been ‘fully’ supportive of the new dedicated Police Memorial Area. “As a result of the opinions expressed during this meeting and through discussions with other family members via telephone, email and letter, the District Commander reversed the decision to create the Memorial Area and relocated the Memorial plaques to their original location in the old enquiry office of Strand Road PSNI,” the PSNI stated.

The police reversed the move in April following a backlash by angry family members and politicians.

Related topics:PSNI