Northern Secretary Peter Hain is today due to tell the House of Commons that he will totally reconstitute the Policing Board in the spring, despite Irish Government and SDLP objections.
Mr Hain will announce that in the spring he will appoint a new 19-member Policing Board, which will increase DUP representation on the body from three to five and reduce SDLP and Ulster Unionist representation, reliable sources told The Irish Times.
Mr Hain in early August said that in the interests of "continuity and stability," the life of the current board, with its 10 political and nine independent members, would be extended for up to a year until October 2006.
However, the Northern Secretary has since then come under intense pressure from the DUP to change the membership of the board so the DUP's unionist electoral dominance, as reflected in the 2003 Assembly elections and more recently the Westminster elections of May this year, would be reflected on the board.
The Government and the SDLP warned against such a move. As recently as yesterday evening SDLP leader Mark Durkan said such a decision would be seen as the British government delivering "sweeties" to the DUP.
Well-placed sources said Mr Hain felt compelled to make such a move because at a time when the British and Irish governments were trying to entice the DUP into political negotiations he had to make some practical overtures to the Rev Ian Paisley's party.
Of the 10 political appointees on the board (with Sinn Féin not taking part), four are from the Ulster Unionist Party, three from the DUP and three from the SDLP. Under the scheduled reconstitution in the spring there would be five DUP members, three Ulster Unionists and two members from the SDLP.
