Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (Renewal of Temporary Provisions) Order 2007

I said no such thing. They were in the pool. Getting into the pool gets you qualified under the UK standard. I cannot say where in the pool the 708—it is 708, by the way, not 780—were. It is not possible to say that they would have been appointed because they were all suitably qualified above the threshold to get into the pool. However, I can say that they were not appointed because of the 50:50 rule, but that does not mean to say that if it were not in place they would have been appointed. It does not necessarily follow. The ill feeling that results from these temporary provisions is due to people thinking that they have lost out and so-and-so down the road has got the job because of their religion. That is not true with the vast majority of people; it cannot be true on the figures I have quoted. It is simply because of supply and demand: the supply is so great and the demand so small. Thousands will be disappointed and it will be nothing to do with the 50:50 recruitment process.