A former senior PSNI officer has said she is “deeply angered and offended” over claims she believed “perverse decisions” were being taken because of a prevalence of Catholics in Northern Ireland’s criminal justice system.
Barbara Gray previously served as an assistant chief constable, with her alleged remarks brought up at a tribunal in London this week.
The Investigator Powers Tribunal (IPT), which is currently examining allegations that Northern Ireland journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney were subjected to unlawful surveillance by the PSNI over their 2017 documentary film about the 1994 Loughinisland massacre.
Giving evidence this week was retired Durham Constabulary officer Darren Ellis, who had investigated the alleged theft of confidential documents used for the film.
Details were read out of a correspondence, where he attributes comments from a senior officer understood to be Ms Gray.
“The officer informed me of what they considered to be perverse decision making within criminal justice processes by those of a religious and political persuasion, given the prevalence of those from a Catholic background within the Northern Ireland Courts system,” he had said.
Addressing the controversy in a meeting of the Policing Board on Thursday, the PSNI’s Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “I cannot emphasise sufficiently how much I disagree with them, as I say I’ve got full confidence in the judiciary.”
In a statement on Thursday, Ms Gray said she was “deeply angered and offended” by Mr Ellis’ comments and would be taking legal advice.
“To clarify, and for the avoidance of any doubt, I have the utmost respect for the judiciary and wider legal profession in Northern Ireland and have done so throughout my 35-year career,” she said.
“I firmly believe in the fundamental principle of equality, integrity and impartiality.”
Disputing Mr Ellis’ evidence, Ms Gray said she directly challenged him in 2019 over written comments he made about the former Lord Chief Justice, which she considered “totally unacceptable and inappropriate.”
She said the matter had been escalated immediately, with her response to him made available to the tribunal in which she hadsaid: “the independence of and conduct of the LCJ and courts in NI cannot be called into question in this manner and your comments do not reflect the impartiality and independence of policing”.
