211 RUC officers' murders are unsolved..it's time we had the funding to catch their killers; - POLICE FEDERATION'S IRWIN MONTGOMERY YESTERDAY.

Byline: JILLY BEATTIE

THE Chief Constable must be given funding to investigate 211 unsolved murders of police officers, the Secretary of State will be told today.

Chairman of the Police Federation Irwin Montgomery is expected to make a stinging attack on the "lack of political will" over the cases.

He said: "The police lost 302 colleagues over the years but only 91 of those investigations came to a conclusion. The rest are lying dormant.

"The families of 211 officers are still living with the painful knowledge that the deaths of their loved ones have effectively been forgotten about.

"The cases are neither closed or active and no one is being made to answer for those murders. The Chief Constable Hugh Orde simply does not have the money or manpower to investigate historical cases while officers are working on current ones.

"That has left hundreds of police families in a devastating emotional limbo."

Secretary of State Paul Murphy will respond to the demand in a speech today at a Police Federation meeting in Belfast's Stormont Hotel. But sources said he will not be willing to put any more money into the police budget for old cases. Mr Orde has already spoken of his frustration over the 1,880 unsolved civilian murders.

He suggested establishing a truth and reconciliation commission might provide closure for victims' relatives.

But Mr Montgomery said: "Money has been made available for the Saville Inquiry and investigations into the murders of Rosemary Nelson and Pat Finucane. The families of murdered police officers should be treated with the same dignity and respect."

The Federation chief will also call for the extradition from the Republic of Maze escaper Eddie McNicholl, 51, charged over the 1975 murder of officer Robert McPherson in Dungiven, Co Derry.

CAPTION(S):

MEETING: Mr Murphy & Irwin Montgomery