BY AILEEN MURPHY

"I will not expend a life to answer a call, and I will not send an officer to their death when it could be dealt with in a different manner," Chief Inspector Alywin Barton has told members of the Fermanagh District Policing Partnership (DPP) when he was put under pressure to answer a question about his officers' delay in responding to a recent attack at Clogh Church Hall, Roslea.

The question was put to the Chief Inspector by Erne East DUP Councillor Paul Robinson, who asked: "Why did the police not answer the call from the people at Clogh Church Hall on Wednesday, 25th February, 2009 and why was the van not 'cleared' by police before it was removed from the scene?"

Chief Inspector Barton responded saying: "Police are fully committed to providing a quality service and support to the public in this area. In doing so, police will adhere to the key principle of policing and the European Convention for Human Rights, we will seek to protect life. This includes police officers' lives."

He went on to detail some of the recent attempts on police officers lives in Fermanagh, including a roadside bomb, partially detonated, on a single track road with one access point only from Northern Ireland at Rellan, Roslea, in November 2006, and a second less than a mile away in June 2008.

He reminded the DPP that the call to police regarding Clogh Church Hall had been in respect of a broken window and said it was answering a similar call for help in Craigavon recently, which had led to the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll.

He added: "Police will exercise caution when responding to all calls, not only in Roslea. I will not expend a life to answer a call."

In respect of the van involved in the Clogh incident, Mr Barton added: "Police procedures remain purely an operational matter for police. This includes our methods employed in dealing with aspects of crime."