The Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson advised the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 21 October 2011 that he would like the process of selecting a new Police Ombudsman to be expedited.
The Police Ombudsman said that his desire was to leave his position by the end of January 2012 but acknowledged that practical and legal issues had to be addressed before that could happen.
Mr. Hutchinson said: "While I have received expressions of support from a number of quarters, it is clear that there remains a focused campaign to have me resign immediately. This continues to damage the Office, affect its independence and impact on its daily work"
Mr. Hutchinson has met with the Justice Minister David Ford and expressed his commitment to continuing the changes to his Office proposed by the McCusker and CJI reports.
"It is important that there is a sound platform for the changes to support the exercise of the Police Ombudsman's functions and I want to do what I can to help deliver those changes," he said.