Sir Hugh Orde says proposals on dealing with the past need to be “dusted off”

Proposals for dealing with Northern Ireland's past – rejected five years ago – must be "dusted off", former PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde has said.

The recommendations, made by former Church of Ireland archbishop Lord Robin Eames and former vice-chairman of the North's police board Denis Bradley, fell after outrage over a plan to make a £12,000 payment to families of victims.

“My sense is that [the Eames-Bradley report] needs to be dusted off and the pressure needs to come off the PSNI so that it can get on with the day job,” he said.

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Mr Orde welcomed Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams's support for the PSNI following his release from custody on Sunday. However, Mr Orde said he did not "recognise" Sinn Féin's charges that "an old guard" existed in the police force.

“It would be a very old guard now,” said Mr Orde, who heads the Association of Chief Police Officers in London. “I don’t recognise an old guard system, I do recognise due process.”

He said historic issues had "not been dealt with effectively and until they are we will get this roller-coaster ride which citizens of Northern Ireland do not need".