POLICING BOARD: WE HAVE NO LONGER ANY CONFIDENCE IN HET

End of the Road for the Historical Enquiries Team?

End of the Road for the Historical Enquiries Team?

THE Policing Board on Thursday says it has “no confidence in the leadership” of the Historical Enquiries Team (HET).

It comes after a scathing report on Wednesday revealed the HET’s investigations into army killings in Northern Ireland have been less rigorous.

The HET is headed up by director Dave Cox, a former commander in New Scotland Yard.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott apologised and said all military cases will be re-examined.

Members of the Policing Board met on Thursday to discuss the findings.

In a statement the board says it has no confidence in the HET and has asked the Chief Constable to review the organisation’s management.

“It is the view of the board that all military case reviews by the HET are suspended.”

The board added: “The HET should continue the process of conducting all other reviews but it should not finalise any cases until all the necessary reforms are completed

“The board has established a dedicated working group to take forward and oversee the implementation of all of the recommendations in the HMIC Report.

“This group, comprising political and independent membership, will also review PSNI failures to respond promptly to issues raised in relation to the work of the HET. The group will meet next week to begin this work and will report on progress in the Autumn.”

According to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the UK’s top policing watchdog, the HET has serious shortcomings and risks losing the confidence of victims’ families.

It said the PSNI unit set up to probe more than 3,000 deaths in Northern Ireland should have been more rigorous in how it investigated killings involving British soldiers.

They were treated differently as a matter of policy, apparently based on a misrepresentation of the law, the report concluded.

It added: “This is entirely wrong, and has led to State involvement cases being reviewed with less rigour in some areas than non-State cases.”

The report was delivered to families in Belfast on Wednesday afternoon.

Apologising over the HET’s practices, Matt Baggott said: “Let me say at the outset that I am sorry that HET put in place a policy that was wrong.

“HET is unique and so is the task they fulfil. There was no easy or established template to be followed. Notwithstanding this, a differential approach to military cases is wrong. I give you my assurance that this has ended.”

 

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2 Responses to POLICING BOARD: WE HAVE NO LONGER ANY CONFIDENCE IN HET

  1. Pingback: REPORT SURELY SPELLS AN END FOR FLAWED MECHANISM !!! | seachranaidhe1

  2. Pingback: ‘CASO’ HET. INCONTRO TRA BAGGOTT E DAVE COX | The Five Demands

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