There is to be a special meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board tomorrow as PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne faces calls for his resignation.
The oversight body will meet in private at midday to discuss the fallout from a court decision yesterday which was critical of Mr Byrne's handling of a disciplinary matter amidst allegations of political pressure from Sinn Féin.
Both the chief constable and his deputy are expected to attend the meeting.
Mr Byrne is under pressure to step down after the court found that he unlawfully disciplined two junior officers after pressure was applied by Sinn Féin.
The case dates back to 2021 and an arrest at a commemoration event in south Belfast during Covid-19 restrictions.
Two police officers were disciplined as a result of the events, but later took a judicial challenge.
A judge ruled yesterday in their favour.
Mr Justice Scoffield said that one had been suspended and the other repositioned following a direct approach and public commentary from senior Sinn Féin politicians.
The judge said it appeared that disciplinary action had been taken "because of the threat (whether real or perceived) that, if it did not do so, republican support for policing would be withdrawn".
Now Mr Byrne has been called on to resign by unionist politicians who accuse him of caving in to political pressure.
Democratic Unionist Party policing board member Trevor Clarke said the chief constable had "no option" but to step down.
"It's clear the officers don't have confidence and now politicians don't have confidence and clearly the public won't have confidence, so I think if you work out the consequences from that the only option open to Simon is to resign at this stage," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie is seeking a meeting with Mr Byrne to discuss the fallout from the case.
Mr Beattie's colleague and policing board member Mike Nesbitt said no political party could be allowed to influence policing.
"Doug and I shall be making clear our view and seeking to establish how this happened, on what other occasions it may have happened and how the chief constable intends to reassure the public it can never happen again."
The incident happened at the 2021 annual wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the 1992 murder of five people by loyalist paramilitaries at a bookies shop on the Ormeau Road.
Restrictions were in place at the time on public gatherings due to Covid-19.
Around 30 people were there and during an interaction with police, one man - who had been shot and injured in the shooting - was arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour.
He was later released without charge.
The court heard that in the aftermath of the incident there was a "frenzy of activity" during which Sinn Féin policing spokesman Gerry Kelly rang a deputy chief constable.
His attention had been drawn to an event in east Belfast a few days earlier in which 60 masked loyalists gathered without any immediate police intervention.
At the time, Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill also tweeted about an apparent culture of double standards in policing with reference to the two events.
The police officers said there were not aware that a commemoration had been taking place.
Though disciplined at the time, the sanctions were later lifted by the PSNI but both officers continued with their court case to challenge the original decision.
Mr Byrne apologised at the time for what had happened but said he would not resign.
Responding today, Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly, who is a member of the policing board, said he wanted to "set the record straight" as he denied making any suggestion that the party might withdraw support for the police.
"At no stage during any calls to, or meetings with, senior PSNI officers did I suggest or insinuate that Sinn Féin would withdraw support for the rule of law or policing, or remove our members from the Policing Board.
"Our focus is fully on continuing to play a role in helping to ensure that our policing service is fair, impartial, efficient, effective and accountable."
Mr Kelly added that the party is "fully committed to the new beginning to policing" and that "it is the responsibility of all parties to continue to achieve an effective and efficient service, which polices impartially with the community".
He said that it was important that independent members and elected representatives on the board could hold the police to account.
"That's why the Policing Board was set up, and that’s why Sinn Féin continues to play a critical role on the board and other local accountability mechanisms.
"It’s a matter of public record that we raised our valid concerns with the Chief Constable and senior police officers about the arrest of victims on the Ormeau Road where families were commemorating the murders of their loved ones by loyalists."
