11/08/2010

North's Policing Board Boss 'Quizzed'

A property developer who is current Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board is to be questioned by PSNI detectives called in by the NI Housing Executive to investigate a company called Big Picture Developments, which lists the senior police scrutiny figure, Barry Gilligan, as one of its directors.

Mr Gilligan (pictured) has now said he has been co-operating fully with the police investigation linked to a company of which he is a director.

On Monday, the police even searched an office at NI Policing Board headquarters as well as at the home of Mr Gilligan.

Today, Mr Gilligan said he "will voluntarily meet the PSNI in the coming days" and insisted that "he was confident both he and the company would be vindicated".

He has been off sick from Policing Board activities since February this year after undergoing major heart surgery.

The NI Housing Executive called in the police to investigate its own role in the development site at Nelson Street in north Belfast five months ago.

In a statement, the PSNI said: "Searches have been conducted in Belfast as part of an investigation into matters concerning development land at Nelson Street in Belfast city centre.

"A number of items have been removed for examination from an office and a house."

A spokeswoman for the NI Policing Board said it could confirm that a search was carried out as part of an ongoing investigation.

(BMcC)

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