Outside force to examine incident linked to police ombudsman

An outside police force has been asked to lead an investigation into aspects of an incident linked to Northern Ireland’s police watchdog.

West Midlands Police will examine some of the events related to an incident at a property linked to Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson in Co Down last month.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said officers attended the address at around 6.30pm on Saturday September 23 following a report of a domestic incident.

A man was arrested as part of those inquiries and later released pending a report to prosecutors.

The PSNI said West Midlands Police would investigate to assess whether there were any other alleged offences related to the incident.

“Police received a report of a domestic incident and attended an address in the Holywood area on Saturday September 23 at approximately 6.30pm,” said the PSNI.

“Police were unable to gain access to the address and following contact, a man aged 63 was arrested for common assault and interviewed at Musgrave station on Sunday September 24.

“He was released and a file will be forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service in due course.”

The PSNI also confirmed it has asked West Midlands Police to investigate and assess whether there are any other alleged criminal offences following the incident in Co Down in September 2023.

They added: “As this investigation is now live we will not be providing any further comment”.

A spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman on Thursday said they are not making any comment.

Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents rank-and-file officers, called for a full and robust investigation.

“The Police Federation for Northern Ireland believes there has to be a full and robust investigation into this matter,” he said.

“No stone should be left unturned to establish the facts and get to the truth.”