I am announcing the membership of the reconstituted Northern Ireland Policing Board to take effect from today. The cross-community Board is one of the great successes flowing from the Belfast Agreement. I would like to pay tribute to all former Board members for the considerable contribution they have made to policing in Northern Ireland and the crucial role they have played in ensuring that the PSNI is effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of the community.

The new membership of the Board is as follows:

Tom Buchanan MLA,

The Right Hon. Jeffrey Donaldson MP, MLA,

David Simpson MP, MLA,

Peter Weir MLA,

Leslie Cree MLA,

Basil McCrea MLA,

Martina Anderson MLA,

Alex Maskey MLA,

Daithi McKay MLA,

Dolores Kelly MLA,

Professor Sir Desmond Rea,

Barry Gilligan,

Rosaleen Moore,

Suneil Sharma,

Brian Rea MBE JP,

Trevor Ringland,

David Rose,

Gearoid OhEara

Mary McKee.