G8 summit venue choice ‘unbelievable’

A SENIOR police representative has questioned the choice of Northern Ireland to host this year’s G8 summit, citing the daily pressures officers there ­already face.

Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said he found it “unbelievable” that such a decision was made by the government.

Mr Docherty said: “I find it strange that Northern Ireland was chosen as a venue, bearing in mind the amount of pressure and the working conditions that the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] is under just now. Officers are under threat every day.

“To enter G8 into that particular mix, I find it unbelievable.”

It has been suggested that up to 4,000 officers from England, Scotland and Wales will be needed as world leaders fly in for the meeting in June, at the Lough Erne golf resort in County Fermanagh. It will be the first time the annual summit has been held in the UK since Gleneagles in Perthshire in 2005.