The prospect of a dramatic overhaul of the RUC, outlined yesterday in a leaked version of the Patten report on the future of policing in the North, has met an angry response from unionist politicians.
According to yesterday's Belfast Telegraph, the Independent Commission on Policing, chaired by Mr Chris Patten, will propose the renaming of the Royal Ulster Constabulary as the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the changing of the force's oath, badge and uniform. The Union flag will also no longer be flown over RUC stations.
The commission will also suggest that the Police Authority be replaced by a new Policing Board, which would contain a majority of politicians from the Northern Ireland Assembly including at least two members of Sinn Fein.
It is believed the report is likely to explicitly state that the force is not being officially disbanded. However, officers who have completed 30 years' service or more will be offered severance packages to retire early to make way for Catholic recruits.
The 4,300-strong full-time RUC reserve will be disbanded, and eventually the force will be scaled down to 8,000 officers from its current level of almost 13,000. At present just under 8 per cent of the 8,500-strong regular force is Catholic, and there are even fewer Catholics in the ranks of the reserve units.
The creation of a non-political environment within the police is seen by the commission as a way to redress the imbalance in the force's religious make-up. However, a radical overhaul of recruitment and training will also be included in the document in an effort to attract more Catholics.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, reacted furiously to the leaked proposal. "If the Patten report comes out with proposals contained in the Belfast Telegraph then the Patten Commission will have failed," said the UUP leader.
The deputy leader of the UUP, Mr John Taylor, said yesterday the proposals were "dynamite".
"The proposal to change the name of the service is an insult to present members and the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland. The name will become the centrepiece of a massive campaign to prevent the government from accepting the Patten report," he added.
DUP politicians expressed their anger at the possibility of Sinn Fein sitting on the police governing body, which it is understood would in turn be served by district or council boards.
These district boards would be given the right to buy extra policing, but not necessarily from the new force. In theory this could enable boards to introduce two-tier policing with firms or even community groups carrying out lower-level policing tasks within their own areas.
"Patten's recommendations are the mother of all sops to the Provisional IRA. Far from removing the politics from policing they will inject politics into the heart of the police service," said the DUP justice spokesman, Mr Ian Paisley jnr.
Mr Gregory Campbell, of the DUP, said the removal of the flag from stations and changes in the uniform, badge, oath and structures of the force were "totally unacceptable".
The new oath will make no reference to the queen or religion, and the RUC badge of the harp, shamrock and crown will be replaced by symbols not connected with the Irish or British states.
It is understood the report is to be made public on September 9th, although a spokesman for the commission could not confirm the date last night.
The commission is to announce on Tuesday when the report will be released, he added.
The SDLP Assembly member, Mr Alex Attwood, proposed that the Patten report be judged against the requirements of the Belfast Agreement for an acceptable police force. "The outcome has to be judged in its totality, not on what may be in the report on one issue or another," he said.
Meanwhile, the dissident republican group, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, said the proposals were "cosmetic changes".
"The issue is not about how many Roman Catholics or Protestants are in the RUC or whether the Union flag flies over a police barracks or not. The fact is the Union flag flies over the six counties, the paymasters of the RUC officers are and will continue to be the British government," said a spokesman.
It is believed that provision for greater accountability of the police service in Northern Ireland will form a key element of the Patten report, Frank Millar adds from London. And there was speculation last night that members of the Northern Ireland Assembly could provide the main democratic component of a reconstituted Police Authority.
Political sources said that, after devolution, membership of a new authority would inevitably be open to all parties represented at Stormont, and in particular to those, including Sinn Fein, eligible for membership of the proposed power-sharing executive.
The same sources said the reported proposal to disband the present full-time reserve had long been foreseen by the RUC, as the full-time reserve's role was predicated on the continuing security emergency in the North.