The RUC oath of office is to be changed, and will not in future require recruits to swear service to Queen Elizabeth, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has confirmed. Dr Mowlam said the change - which will bring the RUC's Declaration of Office of a Constable into line with the form used in Scotland - will be introduced in the forthcoming Police Bill.
Dr Mowlam, who had earlier planned to brief the Northern Ireland parties on the proposal tomorrow, announced her intention yesterday when she addressed the 14th twice-yearly session of the Anglo-Irish Interparliamentary Body in London.
At the same time, she confirmed that, while the Royal Ulster Constabulary will retain its formal title, the proposed Bill will introduce the sub-title `The Northern Ireland Police Service'.
Dr Mowlam was replying to Mr John Home Robertson MP, who asked if changes in the title and oath might help the government in its drive to increase Catholic recruitment to the force.
Both proposals will be welcomed by the Irish Government as a further "confidence-building measure" aimed at the nationalist community in the North. And despite the controversies over recent years, the initial Ulster Unionist reaction to the news last night was low-key.
Proposals to change the oath of office were originally sponsored by Mr David Cook and Mr Chris Ryder, who were sacked from the Northern Ireland Police Authority in 1996. The Authority itself recommended the change following its community consultation exercise, and it is understood that it is not opposed by the Police Federation.
The UUP's security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis MP, said: "The actual words of the oath have already been changed in respect of the judiciary and it is no surprise that adjustments are being made in respect of the police." He continued: "What matters is that the name and Royal designation is maintained, and that anyone entering the service should be committed to abide by the standards and principles which the RUC has sought to maintain through difficult times."
Mr Maginnis was worried, however, that the proposed sub-title might gradually increase in use, proving to be what he termed "the thin end of the wedge". "The sub-title is an unnecessary addition to an old and honourable name which derives from the Royal Irish Constabulary. Any diminution of its importance would be seen as an insult to the memory of all those who have served the whole community."
The present lengthy RUC oath calls on constables entering the force to promise to "well and truly serve" the Sovereign.
Under the Scottish model, the declaration would simply read: "I hereby do solemnly and sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Constable."
British government sources last night emphasised that the current "oath" is not an "oath of allegiance" but rather a declaration or affirmation of office, and said the Scottish form was simpler and more in line with other such declarations in the criminal justice system, like the jurors' declaration and that for senior members of the Bar, which have recently been modernised.
The British government says the move represents a "sensible change clarifying what a police constable is undertaking when he or she takes up their office".