A major reorganisation of the Royal Irish Regiment is unconnected to the process of demilitarisation in the North, the British army has insisted, Paul Tanney writes. The locally recruited regiment provides the backbone of the British army's presence in Northern Ireland and its five "home service" battalions are devoted to internal security duties in support of the RUC.
Under the review, which was announced yesterday, the five battalions will be merged into three larger, more centralised battalions, covering Belfast and the areas west and east of the Bann. The army said the changes would mean base closures but no military redundancies.
