A senior civil servant has been accused of a "disgraceful" attempt to slap down Northern Ireland's police chief over a direct funding plea to the Prime Minister.
The row came after the Department of Justice’s top official criticised Jon Boutcher for bypassing the Executive and writing directly to Sir Keir Starmer on the PSNI’s budget crisis.
Hugh Widdis, the department’s permanent secretary, suggested Mr Boutcher had undermined the authority of Justice Minister Naomi Long and the wider Executive.
But his letter prompted a furious response from the Police Federation.
Liam Kelly said the letter was ‘appalling and the football equivalent of showing the Chief Constable a yellow card, effectively putting him on a final warning that the next indiscretion would result in a red’.
Mr Widdis had issued a letter warning Mr Boutcher stating ‘certain protocols must be followed’ after he wrote to the PM asking for more funding.
He warned the Chief Constable he needed to follow rules associated with Stormont’s budget.
“In accepting your role as Accounting Officer you are required to follow the principles, rules, guidance and advice as outlined in Managing Public Money Northern Ireland (MPMNI).
“These responsibilities include living within the budgetary control totals that have been set by the Assembly.
“As Principal Accounting Officer, it is my duty to intervene if these rules are not followed,” Mr Widdis said in the letter, reported by The Nolan Show.
“Mr Widdis seemingly sought to chastise and gag Jon Boutcher with this high-handed letter,” he said.
The letter was reportedly written in ‘consultation’ with the Department of Finance.
But Mr Kelly urged Mr Widdis to explain the ‘intention’ behind the letter.
“It is unlikely this letter was compiled as a solo run. Mr Widdis needs to clarify who endorsed this approach and explain their collective motivation and intention,” he said.
Mr Kelly also criticised the tone of Mr Widdis’ letter.
“In my view, the tone and tenor of this letter was disgraceful and was a crude attempt to put the Chief Constable firmly back in his box,” he said.
Mr Kelly questioned if Stormont Ministers supported the letter.
“The letter was deliberately copied to the Prime Minister, the First and Deputy First Ministers, the Justice Minister, the Assembly Justice Committee, the Finance Minister and the Northern Ireland Policing Board,” he added.
“If this approach is endorsed by our local political cadre, what hope is there for our police service?”
In the letter, Mr Widdis said he ‘fully acknowledged the challenges facing the PSNI’ saying, “The Justice Minister and indeed the NI Executive are committed to continuing to press the Treasury for a fair funding package to deliver public services in Northern Ireland.”
However, Mr Kelly doesn’t believe Mr Widdis fully acknowledged these challenges.
He added: “It was a shocking insight into how a senior civil servant regards our Chief Constable without as much as a mention of the officers who were injured in street unrest or a credible acceptance of the day-to-day struggle to make ends meet with a wholly inadequate budget.
“Policing is on its knees and the pleas for positive intervention are not being heeded."
Mr Kelly praised the Chief Constable for contacting Mr Starmer directly regarding PSNI funding.
“Mr Boutcher was right to go over the heads of local Ministers and appeal directly to the Prime Minister,” he added.
“He was forced to do that because he has already evidenced and outlined to Ministers the facts around the critical position policing is in,” he said.
Mr Widdis believes the local government's lack of action forced Mr Boutcher to take drastic actions.
“From the minute he was appointed, he has been making the case for more resources, but nothing tangible has changed.
“The ongoing dithering and procrastination at local level has dictated his actions,” he said.
Mr Kelly feels the letter reflects poorly on the whole Stormont government.
“Warning him of ‘consequences’ for going outside Civil Service referral processes is risible if it wasn’t so serious,” he added.
“Attempting to gag the Chief Constable to prevent him from speaking out about the cuts and the failure of Stormont to campaign for a proper budget is yet more evidence of a system that is dysfunctional and broken,” he said.
Former UUP leader Doug Beattie echoed Mr Kelly’s comments, stating the Mr Widdis’ letter was ‘appalling’ and ‘deplorable’.
Speaking to the Nolan Show, Mr Beattie said Mr Boutcher has been let down by politicians.
“There seems to be no one in his corner, they are simply not fighting hard enough for our police service.
“Jon Boutcher was quite clear he can not work with his budget and he’s been put in that position because of politicians' inactivity.
“Jon is really concerned with providing a quality service and no one is in his corner to allow him to do that.”
Euro Cop, an umbrella police union and staff association organisation in Europe have also shared their support for Mr Boutcher, saying they stand ‘in solidarity with members of the PFNI as they face unprecedented challenges.’
SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan said the letter to Mr Boutcher was ‘astounding’.
He said that officials should be working intensively to address the public service funding crisis rather than ‘picking fights’.
“In the week that Jon Boutcher was meeting the Prime Minister to make the argument additional resource for the police service, our own Executive was bizarrely trying to put him in his place,” he said.
He added: “Three weeks ago the Chief Constable warned again that the PSNI is exhausted and that the message clearly wasn’t landing. He was right and he is right to take that message to every political leader.”
by BelfastTelegraph
3 comments
Seems a fair complaint imo. Protocols exist for a reason.
I mean he clearly just had enough of all the fucking around on the hill and associated departments
So basically
“Im here, people need me to say yes, how dare they go straight to my manager when im acting incompetent?!”