The Sinn Féin President says that he believes that the opportunities for a successful peace process are limited due to the British Government's refusal to accept that the Police Act must be amended. Speaking on This Week, Gerry Adams said that there will be a vacuum in the peace process until the Policing legislation is amended and made acceptable to all.
Meanwhile, the SDLP leader has rejected a suggestion by the Northern Secretary, Peter Mandelson, that the party's refusal to endorse planned policing reforms is driven by electoral considerations. Speaking in Derry last night, John Hume said that he found the claim deeply offensive. He said that the prize of a policing service that could be welcomed in every street was something worth striving for. And, in a BBC interview this morning, he insisted that the SDLP's position on policing had been consistent.
