'Armour made jeep unstable' Bereaved family comforts hero taxi driver Cross-community tributes to victims.

Byline: By TOM McTAGUE

HEAVY armour plating may have cost the four police officers their lives by making their 4X4 unstable, an expert on bulletproof vehicles said yesterday.

Jim Kirkpatrick, whose firm used to install plating on police vehicles, said: "The lives of these men might well have been saved if the police had more manoeuvrable vehicles."

The Northern Ireland Sheet Metal boss spoke out after one anonymous officer told Radio Ulster's Talkback the Mitsubishis were an "accident waiting to happen".

He said: "We have been complaining for a long time about these Mitsubishi jeeps. They are very unstable, especially at high speed."

Mr Kirkpatrick, a Belfast DUP councillor, said: "There are certainly handling problems - they can overturn easily.

"And the glass is about 30-35 millimetres thick, and that adds considerably to the problem."

Mr Kirkpatrick said he thought the police were using the 3.2litre diesel 4X4 because they couldn't afford to replace them.

He added: "I think it's wiser to travel at high speed in lower-centre-of-gravity vehicles. But the economics demand they should be used."

John McGlinchey, an expert in carcrash forensics, said even official guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers said the vehicle had driving problems.

He added the ACPO manual warns: "It must be remembered that such vehicles have handling limitations."

The Police Federation said they would not comment until after a proper inquiry had been carried out.

A spokesman said he had spoken to the Assistant Chief Constable who had assured him the investigation would be open and transparent.

CAPTION(S):

DANGEROUS Armour-plated 4X4