The British government has been accused of dropping its guard against terrorism in Northern Ireland by cutting the police budget by over £100 million sterling over the next three years.
DUP MP Mr Peter Robinson said the RUC was being forced to contemplate a whole series of drastic measures to meet the swingeing cuts.
These, he insisted, would include the closure of 15 police stations, a drop of 50 per cent in new recruits and a cutting of police overtime by £6.5 million sterling.
But Police Authority chairman Pat Armstrong said he had been assured by Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan that there would be full public consultation before any closures went ahead.
The chief constable has said the first contingent of 240 recruits to the new Policing Service of Northern Ireland will be in training by September and on the streets by March 2002.
But Mr Robinson said this recruitment would not be enough to replace the numbers leaving the force or prevent a weakening of its ability to fight terrorism and other crime.
"It is very clear from the documentation that this will affect the service that is provided at a time when the chief constable has expressed concern about the growing sophistication of so-called Republican dissidents," he said.
"It is a very dismal picture and one that is bound to start the alarm bells ringing to anybody who is concerned that the guard is being dropped in the battle against terrorism," he said.
PA