The British government has vowed to press ahead with plans to set up Northern Ireland's new Policing Board by next month, despite the refusal of the UUP to endorse the plans and the growing rift between the SDLP and Sinn Féin on the issue.
Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid said he was confident that by the end of September the British government would have "established the first ever Policing Board to command support from both sides of the community.
Dr Reid insisted the time had come for parties to join the 19-member board which will hold the new service accountable.
"Any refusal (to join) is not only a loss to the process; it denies their people their own constituency rights - their right to be represented in the new police service; their right to see the men and women they elected playing a full part in every area of life in Northern Ireland," he said.
The Ulster Unionist Party today withheld endorsement for the implementation plan. The party missed the noon deadline imposed by Dr Reid for a response.
Both the UUP and DUP said they needed more time to study the proposals.
The SDLP gave its support to the plans yesterday and agreed to have representatives on the policing board, which will oversee the new force. Sinn Féin has rejected the plan.
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UUP chairman Mr James Cooper said the party was committed to the development of a culture of lawfulness and they needed to ensure the police had all the necessary resources. "While we are not opposed in principle to nominations to the police board, we still have a number of concerns," he said.
Earlier, UUP South Antrim MP David Burnside said they would back the plans - provided the SDLP agreed to a power-sharing government that excluded Sinn Féin.
He claimed a decision hinged on how the SDLP reacted if the IRA did not disarm. "That will be the choice for the SDLP if they want Stormont to function because I do not believe unionists will serve in it with Sinn Féin/IRA".
But Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Ms Michelle Gildernew has described the implementation plan as "deeply flawed".
"Young nationalists and republicans will not be fooled into accepting less than their just entitlements; they will not be fooled into joining this repackaged RUC; they will not join a police service still controlled by the securocrats," she said.
Ms Gildernew said the policing proposals are not yet set in stone: "Clearly, the Implementation Plan is not the last word. Negotiations on policing are set to continue.
"They will not join a force which will fire plastic bullets at their neighbours and friends," she said.
Additional reporting PA
