Marie Anderson

Police ombudsman Marie Anderson is currently on extended absence due to illness, with her responsibilities delegated to the office’s senior director of investigations, Paul Holmes.

Mr Holmes has already been carrying out the functions of chief executive pending a permanent appointment to the post. Former PSNI officer Hugh Hume is expected to be appointed to the post shortly.

Justice minister Naomi Long was quizzed in the Assembly this week about the ability of the ombudsman’s office to fulfil its statutory functions in the circumstances.

Mrs Long said there are “legally complex matters at play, as well as personal matters, and it is important that we respect the privacy but also the process that is under way at the moment”.

She added: “Whether the ombudsman chooses to step aside or not is, in the first instance, a matter for the ombudsman and, in the second instance, a matter for the Executive Office and the first minister and deputy first minister.”

Mrs Anderson, a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast who qualified as a solicitor in 1985, was appointed as police ombudsman in 2019.