Ulster Unionist MLA, Mr Fred Cobain says he will resign his position on the North's policing board in a row over the decision to axe over half the PSNI full-time Reserve.
Mr Fred Cobain came under fire after he failed to return from an international football match in time for a vote on Chief Constable Hugh Orde's decision to cut Reservist numbers from nearly 1,500 to 680.
Democratic Unionists are blaming Mr Cobain's absence on the Policing Board failure to pass a motion rejecting Mr Orde's decision. The vote went against the DUP by eight to seven.
But the north Belfast MLA tonight insisted his absence "no material difference". "If it did; I will resign on Monday," he said.
Some unionists on a district policing partnership in Banbridge, Co Down have also threatened to quit as the row over the redundancies deepened.
Earlier, senior police officers accepted assurances from the Chief Constable that his decision was not politically motivated.
Leaders of the Superintendents' Association met Mr Orde in Belfast after representatives of the rank-and-file claimed he had bowed to political pressure to reduce the Reserve.
Mr Orde categorically denied the accusation.
After today's 40-minute meeting, association president Chief Superintendent Stephen Grange said they accepted assurances that the decision was purely operational, based on the Chief Constable's security review.