Officer to be prosecuted for offence linked to Troubles memorial during pandemic

A police officer is to be prosecuted for conspiring to pervert the course of justice in relation to an incident at a Troubles commemoration during the Covid-19 pandemic, prosecutors have announced.

The prosecution is indirectly linked to events that unfolded on the Ormeau Road in Belfast in February 2021 during a service marking the anniversary of the Sean Graham bookmakers attack in which five people were murdered.

Two officers faced internal disciplinary action by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) after a survivor of the 1992 loyalist shooting was arrested at the memorial.

It came after police had challenged people attending amid suspicions that the size of the public gathering breached coronavirus regulations.

Last year, a High Court judge found that the disciplinary actions taken against the two junior police officers were unlawful, and were motivated by a desire by commanders to allay any threat of Sinn Fein abandoning its support for policing in Northern Ireland.

The ruling was one of the main contributory factors that led to the resignation of former PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne last September.

The prosecution announced by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland on Wednesday is not directly linked to the events on the day of the incident in 2021.

The officer being prosecuted is instead accused of involvement in the generation of a false threat report that was intended to support an application to court for a witness anonymity order related to the original incident.

It is understood the alleged offence happened months after the events at the commemoration.

The prosecution comes following an investigation by the PSNI's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). The PPS made the decision after considering a file forwarded by the ACU.

It is understood court papers are now being prepared, with a court date for the officer's first appearance not yet confirmed.

On Wednesday, the PPS also issued a decision not to prosecute a civilian for alleged assault on police during the incident on the Ormeau Road in February 2021.

That allegation was investigated in a separate police investigation.

After considering the police evidence file, prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Issuing the decision on the assault file was delayed pending the outcome of the separate ACU investigation.

The PPS said this was because the allegations under investigation by the ACU were "relevant to the prospects of conviction on the assault file".

A PPS statement added: "All decision making on both files was undertaken independently, impartially and in line with the Code for Prosecutors."

A spokeswoman for the PSNI said the duty status of the officer being prosecuted would now be reviewed.

"Prosecutorial decisions are a matter for the Public Prosecution Service," the spokeswoman said.

"As this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we will not be commenting further at this time.

"The duty status of the officer will now be reviewed in light of the PPS decision."