Scathing criticism of the RUC from US politicians and witnesses has marked a Congressional hearing into the "need for new and acceptable policing in Northern Ireland".
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, was also criticised for insufficient attention to the murder of a Catholic constituent, Mr David Hamill, whose sister, Diane, testified yesterday.
There was also criticism of the role of the FBI in the investigation into the murder of the Lurgan solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson, whose husband, Paul, submitted a written statement to the hearing by the influential Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.
Opening the meeting, the committee chairman, Mr Ben Gilman, said "The RUC is not objective, is not impartial and lacks the support of many of the people it is intended to serve."
Mr Gilman said he had invited Mr Chris Patten, chairman of the commission on policing, to give testimony but "he declined, citing the commission's independence".
Mr Gilman accepted that but he hoped Mr Patten's final report and recommendations "display similar independence from the ruling unionist-dominated political structure in the North today".
Mr Gilman said he regretted the decision of the RUC Police Federation to decline an invitation to testify. "One cannot overlook the stark fact that more than 300 of these officers have been killed in the North. I would have hoped to hear their perspectives as well."
He said the UUP was also asked to recommend a witness to testify and "regrettably did not do so".
Ms Ann Smith, the UUP representative in Washington, who attended as an observer, later told The Irish Times she was "very disappointed at the unbalanced panel" of witnesses, but the testimony of Monsignor Raymond Murray, chairperson of Relatives for Justice, was "fairly balanced and very good to hear".
Ms Smith said she would be in touch with Mr Trimble about Ms Hamill's complaint. When Congressman Chris Smith said the committee would write to Mr Trimble about his handling of the matter, applause broke out among the large attendance from Irish-American organisations, many of whom wore yellow badges saying "Just say no to the RUC".
Mr Smith also criticised the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, whom he has met, saying "he is in deep denial about the problems in his police force. Either he is thoroughly uninformed about what is going on in his own force or he is hiding what he knows".
Mr Smith and Congressman Joe Crowley also queried the role of the FBI in the investigation of the murder of Ms Nelson and said the committee would be following this up. Mr Smith said the calling in of the FBI by the Chief Constable was "used to distract".
He said the FBI officers had "no operational control" and could not issue search warrants. They were "just observers and have now been pulled out".
He and other members of Congress had told Northern Secretary Dr Mo Mowlam that "we are not fooled by this so-called co-operation" between the RUC and the FBI.
Congressman Peter King observed that Ms Nelson had been murdered some months after testifying to their committee last September and that Belfast solicitor Mr Pat Finucane had also visited the US before he was murdered.
Mr King said he was putting on record that the committee "will take it very seriously if there will be any retaliation against today's witnesses".
The witnesses on the first panel in addition to Ms Hamill and Monsignor Murray were Mrs Tony Carragher, of the South Armagh Farmers' and Residents' Committee, and Father Sean McManus, president of the Irish National Caucus and originally from Co Fermanagh.
The second panel consisted of Prof John McGarry, University of Western Ontario; Ms Maggie Beirne, Committee on Administration of Justice, Belfast; Ms Jane Winter, British-Irish Rights Watch, London; Ms Halya Gowan, Amnesty International, and Ms Julia Hall, Human Rights Watch, New York.
The chairman, Mr Gilman, asked if one should be trying to "reform the RUC or get rid of it?" Monsignor Murray said "disband" was a politically emotive word for unionists but "reform" seemed to mean "more tinkering". If the Patten Commission "proposes a new police service and this is implemented, there will be an enthusiastic response from the Catholic community".
The report of yesterday's hearing will become part of the record of the House of Representatives and will also be submitted to the Patten Commission.