On 9 August 2025, The Irish News revealed that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has ordered Chief Inspector Andy George, President of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), to return to duty on 1 October 2025.
The timing is more than curious – it’s deeply concerning:
- One day before NBPA presidential voting closes
- During the NBPA’s national conference
- Just 24 hours after PSNI launched its Race & Ethnicity Action Plan
From the Alliance for Police Accountability’s (APA) perspective, this is not an ordinary staffing decision. It is a direct challenge to NBPA’s independence and risks further eroding trust in PSNI’s already fragile anti-racism commitments.
The NBPA’s Role and Independence
The NBPA represents over 6,000 Black, Asian and minority ethnic officers and staff across the UK. Its president is elected by members, not appointed by a chief constable. This independence is not symbolic it is essential to holding policing to account on race equality.
To recall Andy George mid-election, whilst he has an active race discrimination and political victimisation case, creates a perception of interference in a democratic process.
It sends a dangerous signal: that representative bodies are only free to lead when their leaders do not challenge institutional power.
The Race & Ethnicity Action Plan Problem
The PSNI’s recently launched Race & Ethnicity Action Plan should have been an opportunity to rebuild trust. Instead, it raises red flags:
- No ring-fenced funding
- No measurable targets
- No timelines
- No independent accountability
Without these safeguards, an “action plan” risks being little more than public relations dressed as progress a common criticism when institutions launch initiatives without real structural change.
Representation Matters
Numbers speak volumes:
- Only 50 of PSNI’s 6,200 officers are from an ethnic minority background.
Removing the UK’s most senior ethnic minority police leader from a full-time equality role and doing so mid-election sends a message that leadership is conditional on silence, not on courage or competence.
For communities who already feel over-policed and under-protected, this reinforces the perception that equality work in policing is tolerated only when it is convenient.
APA’s Call to Action
We call on:
- Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister and the NI Policing Board to safeguard NBPA’s independence.
- PSNI to delay the recall until after NBPA elections have concluded.
- An independent review of the Race & Ethnicity Action Plan — fully funded, time-bound, and benchmarked against national Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) standards.
Why This Goes Beyond Northern Ireland
This is not just a Northern Ireland story. If one chief constable can recall a nationally elected NBPA president mid-election, then the independence of all representative policing bodies is at risk.
Policing by consent relies on trust, and trust depends on the freedom to hold power to account without fear of retaliation.
This moment matters.
It is a litmus test for whether police forces can commit to anti-racism in more than words and whether those leading that work can do so without political interference.
The stakes are clear: silence the voice, weaken the movement. Protect the voice, strengthen the path to justice.
#PoliceAccountability #PSNI #NBPA #InstitutionalRacism #RaceEquality #Leadership #Justice #PublicTrust #APA