Up to 60 people have been shortlisted for independent positions on Northern Ireland's reformed Policing Board, it emerged today.
And the authority's vice-chairman Denis Bradley has urged the political parties to strengthen female representation on the new panel which will begin scrutinising Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde's performance in April.
Mr Bradley (60) who is standing down after defying death threats and an assault to complete four years' service, insisted his post and the chairmanship should remain with independent members.
He said: "Politicians should be gracious and wise enough to stay away from them for at least the next four or five years. It's too early in the process."
The ex-priest from Derry exposed himself to attack from those still opposed to Northern Ireland's policing arrangements when he took on a key role on the body set up as part of a major overhaul of the force.
While his dispute with Sinn Féin remains ideological, dissident republicans singled him out for violent intimidation. Bullets were sent through the post, death threats issued and his home petrol-bombed. The sinister campaign took a terrifying turn when a thug battered him around the head with a baseball bat in a pub in Derry's Brandywell district last September.
But Mr Bradley insisted he never felt like quitting, even though he recognised the anxiety it caused his wife and three children. "There are some people who hit me over the head and put a few wee things outside my home," he accepted.
"But I don't think they were big in number and I don't think it was personal.
One of the few certainties about the board, which is due to be reconstituted on April 1st, is that Mr Bradley will not feature.
A major shake-up is expected among the 10 political seats, with Rev Ian Paisley's DUP set to increase on their three members to reflect growing electoral strength. The Ulster Unionists and nationalist SDLP are expected to lose a position each. With Sinn Féin still refusing to accept its two places, Secretary of State Peter Hain faces a challenge to prevent the authority becoming unionist-controlled.
He will wait for the parties to nominate representatives before deciding which independents could best achieve the delicate balance needed to protect the Board.
A major focus should be put on getting more women than the two current members, particularly as neither of them were political appointees, Mr Bradley insisted.
Uncertainty still surrounds whether Board chairman Sir Desmond Rea, with whom Mr Bradley formed a close working relationship, will stay on in the top role.
PA