Police Minister George Hawkins' outburst at the Police Association annual conference and his comments to a reporter afterwards can only be described as gobbledegook and he should apologise to the police executive, National Police spokesperson Brian Neeson said.

Mr Hawkins told yesterday's conference that the 20-member police executive is too large and he expected changes to be made.

The Minister later told the Evening Post that 'Christmas isn't too far away...at Christmas, a few turkeys get their heads chopped.'

"Mr Hawkins should apologise to the police executive for this appalling outburst. It is completely inappropriate for the Minister to refer to any member of his department as a 'turkey'.

"This is yet another attack on the Police by this Government. It's about time they showed some support for our Police force rather than just throwing insults.

"Mr Hawkins is involving himself in what is essentially a management issue. He has indicated he will get involved before he has even given the Commissioner a decent opportunity to sort it out himself.

"If there is a real issue with the number of members in the executive, the Minister should quietly get to the bottom of it and assist the Police Commissioner to do his job, rather than indulging in threatening and insulting behaviour," Mr Neeson said.

Ends

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