Mr Chris Patten's grand objective, when he published his commission's report on police reform two years ago, was to take politics out of policing.
An admirable ambition but judging by nationalist annoyance over who should chair the new Policing Board very difficult to realise.
Senior SDLP figures were yesterday intensively lobbying of the North's Minister of Security, Ms Jane Kennedy, and her senior officials to appoint a perceived nationalist rather than a perceived unionist as chairman of the Policing Board.
One uses the term "perceived" because the row centres on two of the nine appointees to the 19-member board who are described as independent.
The British government, according to reliable sources, is anxious to appoint Prof Desmond Rea as chairman, with Mr Denis Bradley as his vice-chairman. The SDLP, however, wants Mr Bradley in the chair.
The SDLP is not questioning Prof Rea's bona fides - he has business expertise and is a member of the Labour Relations Agency, but argues that he comes from the unionist "side of the house".
Prof Rea is very much on the liberal wing of politics. He was a central figure in the behind-the-scenes but influential and moderate cross-community JIGSA grouping of academics and professionals, which was one of the first - and prior to the IRA ceasefire - to open up dialogue with republicans.
"He is a classic liberal unionist with a small u, who would be basically supportive of David Trimble's approach to the peace process," said an associate of Prof Rea's last night.
Neither are Ulster Unionists questioning Mr Bradley's bona fides but they believe he comes from the nationalist "side of the house". Mr Bradley is a former priest who was in Derry on Bloody Sunday and played an important role as an intermediary between the IRA and the British government in the lead-up to the IRA ceasefire.
As an Irish News columnist he was also a significant figure in forcibly arguing that the SDLP should join the Policing Board and that Sinn FΘin's objections to the board did not stand up to scrutiny.
The dispute prompted the NIO last night to postpone announcing the nine independent members of the 19-member Policing Board, even though it had planned to release the names yesterday morning, and although the names have been leaked to the press.
There is a glaring irony in the SDLP being at odds with the British over the appointment of the nine independent members of the Policing Board. The reality, however, is that even designated independent people in Northern Ireland will be quickly categorised as either leaning to unionism or nationalism.
And it must be said that it can be difficult to avoid such perceptions. For instance, another of the appointees is Lord Brookeborough, an Ulster Unionist peer who takes the Conservative whip in the House of Lords.
He is grandson of the first prime minister of Northern Ireland, and obviously a unionist. Mr Tom Kelly is a former director of communications of the SDLP, and would be viewed as clearly a nationalist. Both would argue that their main focus is to ensure good policing for all in Northern Ireland.
The remaining 10 members of the board are political appointees. Had Sinn FΘin joined the board the political appointments would have been five each for nationalists and unionists, based on the breakdown of the 10 executive seats: three UUP, three SDLP, two DUP, two Sinn FΘin.
The two seats not taken up by Sinn FΘin were allocated on the basis of the complex d'Hondt system, which applies positions relative to each party's electoral strength. In this case it worked to the disadvantage of the SDLP with Sinn FΘin's positions going one each to the UUP and the DUP.
This was one reason why a perceived nationalist rather than unionist should be allocated the chair, argued the SDLP MP, MLA and Policing Board member Mr Eddie McGrady. Mr Bradley's appointment would "help restore the balance" created by Sinn FΘin's boycott, he said.
Last night the SDLP appeared to be digging in its heels on the issue. Dr Reid and his fellow NIO ministers are understood to be deeply frustrated by this latest obstacle to a new policing service but nonetheless are trying to find an honourable compromise to resolve the problem.