Met officer named as head of Northern Ireland police

A political row erupted last night when a police officer who investigated some of the murkiest areas of policing in Belfast was appointed as Northern Ireland's top policeman.

Hugh Orde, 43, a Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, is the new head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The post, which carries a salary of up to £130,000, is regarded as one of the most challenging and daunting in western Europe.

The two Unionist politicians who were on the eight-member selection panel immediately made it clear that they did not approve of the appointment. This put them at odds with nationalist and independent panel members. It means Mr Orde will take the job with no element of Unionist approval.

Mr Orde has had 25 years' experience with the Met. He has just spent two and a half years in charge of the inquiry into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. One of the most controversial killings of the troubles, it has given rise to allegations of collusion by the Special Branch and other intelligence elements. The report of the inquiry is expected to be highly critical of many aspects of the performance of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which has now been renamed as the PSNI.

It will also contain many recommendations for changes. Mr Orde will thus assume responsibility for putting his own recommendations into effect.

The two other unsuccessful candidates were both serving members of the PSNI. The last chief constable was Sir Ronnie Flanagan, who has taken up a post in Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Police.

Mr Orde will have the task of carrying on the transformation of the old Royal Ulster Constabulary into the new Police Service of Northern Ireland. The new organisation is much smaller and with a much more civilian character than the RUC. He will also have to cope with the many hangovers from the days of the RUC, including its much-criticised investigation into the 1998 Omagh bombing and the Finucane murder.

The extraordinary break-in at the Belfast offices of the Special Branch this year, as well as many lesser events, vividly illustrates how the area of policing can produce many surprises and crises.

Morale within the changing service is said to be low, with a particularly high sickness rate, which means that on an average day more than a thousand officers are off work on grounds of health.

The appointment was made, for the first time, by a committee of members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, which has successfully navigated its way through a number of highly contentious issues.

The British and Irish governments, meanwhile, confirmed that a number of controversial cases arising from the troubles will be reviewed by Judge Peter Cory, who retired from Canada's Supreme Court three years ago. The two governments had agreed to appoint a senior judicial figure during last year's Weston Park negotiations on reviving the peace process.