The Ulster Unionist Party's planned meeting with the Chief Constable later today has been postponed.

Policing Board member, Mike Nesbitt MLA, has expressed disappointment that he and Party Leader Doug Beattie MLA will not be able to pursue issues that were left unexplored by yesterday's shock announcement that the Chief Constable is considering an appeal against the Judicial Review of the disciplinary actions against the two probationary officers involved in an incident on the Ormeau Road in February 2021.

Mike Nesbitt said: "The Chief Constable's dramatic announcement at the Policing Board yesterday fell like a guillotine on the day's agenda. It had been my intention to question the suggestion from Justice Scoffield that police decisions were influenced by the threat or perceived threat of Sinn Féin withdrawing from the Policing Board if the officers were not disciplined.

"Writing in Republican News a couple of days after the Ormeau Road event, the senior Sinn Féin member, Declan Kearney MLA, stated 'Our engagement with the PSNI and the police accountability mechanisms, such as the Policing Board, has been consistent and constructive. But it has also been conditional .... Some have clearly made an assumption that Sinn Féin's leadership can be taken for granted, That's a mistake.'

"That raises the legitimate question of whether that was the atmosphere in which decisions were being taken at Police Headquarters. If so, that represents unacceptable political interference. Police officers, staff and the public are all entitled to know what weight the Chief Constable and the Senior Executive Team put on political opinion when making decisions. The Ulster Unionist Party will continue to press for greater clarity on this critical issue."