Sinn Féin today announced that it would be nominating Assembly members Alex Maskey, Martina Anderson and Daithí McKay to the Policing Board once the Board is reconstituted after the political institutions are re-established on May 8th.Maskey is someone that republicans can be confident to represent them but who loyalists know will be fair. He was chosen by Sinn Féin, as a key ally of Gerry Adams, to lead the party's entry into electoral politics, winning a by-election in 1983 for a seat on Belfast City Council from the Upper Falls area.
Maskey is best known as the first ever republican to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast and despite twenty years of struggling against intimidation by the unionist community was widely seen as having reached out to them as Lord Mayor. Sinn Fein's willingness to take its places on the Policing Board, despite ongoing inquiries by the Police Ombudsman into state collusion in murders of republicans, represents their ongoing commitment to offer concessions to push forward the Good Friday Agreement.
Speaking today in Stormont Mr Maskey said:"For many years a core Sinn Féin objective has been the creation of an accountable and representative policing service. This is a key area of work for Sinn Féin. The Policing Board is charged with holding the PSNI to account. Our presence on the Board will be the guarantee that this happens."
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