Bible belonging to ‘father of modern policing' among exhibits for new museum
It is hoped the museum will be completed and open to the public by autumn 2028.
It is to be run by a new charitable company within the grounds of the existing police headquarters at Knock Road in east Belfast.
The Board of Trustees is to include representatives from the PSNI, the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation and the Police Historical Society (NI), alongside a number of independent members yet to be appointed.
Some £5.5 million has been set aside by government to fund the building project, while a further £385,000 has been secured from the Part-Time RUC Reserve pension settlement.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said it will be a facility for the whole community to enjoy.
'I am delighted that we will be able to progress the building of a new museum here at police headquarters,' he said.
'The museum will offer cross curricula and whole-life learning opportunities for schools, students, adults and community groups through exhibitions, educational programmes and engagement activities.
'This will be a facility that the whole community can enjoy as we highlight the ongoing role of policing in conflict resolution, reconciliation and keeping people safe.'
Stephen White, of the RUC GC Foundation, said the stories of police officers will be preserved for future generations.
'The foundation is proud to support this project to make the important role of policing more accessible and visible to our communities,' he said.
'It will exhibit the service and bravery of police officers across the decades and ensure that their stories are preserved for future generations.'
George Clarke, of the Police Historical Society (NI), added: 'The Police Historical Society is delighted with plans for a new and fitting museum.
'The new facilities will enable us to present and preserve the many artefacts we hold relating to policing in Ireland.
'Our collection contains approximately 12,000 artefacts of a diverse nature including uniforms, medals and other items telling the story of policing from 1814 to the present day; our oldest exhibit is a Bible from 1608 which belonged to Sir Robert Peel.
'We look forward to these being accessible to the wider public to illustrate the history of policing over more than 200 years.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
HMRC update on letters going out over state pension back payments worth £8,300
The tax authority said it will continue in its efforts to raise awareness of the issue HMRC has spoken out about its campaign to contact people who could be owed thousands of pounds in state pension payments. The group has been writing to people who may have been underpaid due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection from their National Insurance record. The average arrears payment was £8,377, as of March 2025. Consumer advocate Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, recently urged people to check if they were owed cash because of the issue, particularly as HMRC has now stopped writing to people who may be affected. HMRC was asked for an update on its work to contact those who may have been affected. A government spokesperson said: "We're determined to help people who've been left out of pocket due to historical errors which are no fault of their own. "That's why we wrote to more than 370,000 people potentially affected, and launched an online tool to help people check if they can claim. "We ran an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record." What was the Home Responsibilities Protection scheme? Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was a scheme that ran from 1978 to 2010. It was designed to make sure your National Insurance (NI) contributions were added to your record, which helps build up your state pension entitlement, in cases where a person was out of working caring for a child or for a sick or disabled person. In some cases, HRP was missing from people's records, meaning their NI contributions and subsequent state pension payments were lower than they should have been. This issue mostly affects women who took time out of work to raise their children, but anyone who otherwise cared for a person during this period could be affected. If you think you were missing HRP, you can apply for it to be added to your record on the Government website. HMRC was also asked to explain what happens when HRP is added to someone's NI record. The group said: "If someone has a period of HRP added as a result of an application, first HMRC will determine the number of years of National Insurance that should be added to their record. " DWP will then apply this to the individual's state pension eligibility and determine what impact (if any) it will have on their state pension payments." If you apply for HRP and you disagree with the decision and how it affects your state pension, if the dispute relates to the number of years on your record, you should contact HMRC. If the issue relates to your state pension entitlement, you should contact DWP.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
HRMC update on letters going out over state pension back payments worth £8,300
The tax authority said it will continue in its efforts to raise awareness of the issue HMRC has spoken out about its campaign to contact people who could be owed thousands of pounds in state pension payments. The group has been writing to people who may have been underpaid due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection from their National Insurance record. The average arrears payment was £8,377, as of March 2025. Consumer advocate Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, recently urged people to check if they were owed cash because of the issue, particularly as HMRC has now stopped writing to people who may be affected. HMRC was asked for an update on its work to contact those who may have been affected. A government spokesperson said: "We're determined to help people who've been left out of pocket due to historical errors which are no fault of their own. "That's why we wrote to more than 370,000 people potentially affected, and launched an online tool to help people check if they can claim. "We ran an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record." What was the Home Responsibilities Protection scheme? Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was a scheme that ran from 1978 to 2010. It was designed to make sure your National Insurance (NI) contributions were added to your record, which helps build up your state pension entitlement, in cases where a person was out of working caring for a child or for a sick or disabled person. In some cases, HRP was missing from people's records, meaning their NI contributions and subsequent state pension payments were lower than they should have been. This issue mostly affects women who took time out of work to raise their children, but anyone who otherwise cared for a person during this period could be affected. If you think you were missing HRP, you can apply for it to be added to your record on the Government website. HMRC was also asked to explain what happens when HRP is added to someone's NI record. The group said: "If someone has a period of HRP added as a result of an application, first HMRC will determine the number of years of National Insurance that should be added to their record. " DWP will then apply this to the individual's state pension eligibility and determine what impact (if any) it will have on their state pension payments." If you apply for HRP and you disagree with the decision and how it affects your state pension, if the dispute relates to the number of years on your record, you should contact HMRC. If the issue relates to your state pension entitlement, you should contact DWP.
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Scotsman
Home Responsibilities Protection: error may owe thousands
Thousands risk missing out on State Pension top-ups due to a government error 👀 Sign up to the weekly Cost Of Living newsletter. Saving tips, deals and money hacks. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... People who took time off work to care for children or family between 1978 and 2010 may be owed thousands in missing State Pension payments A government error meant many didn't receive Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) credits, reducing their National Insurance record and pension amount Martin Lewis warns the government has stopped proactively contacting those affected On average, underpayments are worth around £5,000, but some have received backpayments exceeding £30,000 Those who suspect they're affected should check their State Pension forecast on People who took time off work to care for children or family between 1978 and 2010 are being urged by Martin Lewis to check if they're owed thousands in missing State Pension payments — with some reclaiming more than £30,000 in backpay. The MoneySavingExpert founder has warned that a government error, which went unnoticed for decades, could be depriving hundreds of thousands of a State Pension boost worth an average of £5,000. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But most of those affected haven't been contacted, and time is running out to claim what they're owed. What's the issue? The error centres on Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a government scheme that ran from 1978 to 2010. It was supposed to protect the State Pensions of people — mostly mothers — who claimed Child Benefit or cared for someone long-term ill or disabled. HRP gave people National Insurance (NI) 'credits' for the years they weren't working due to caring duties. These credits count towards their State Pension entitlement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But due to government record-keeping failures, around 194,000 people never received those credits, meaning their NI records are incomplete and their State Pensions lower than they should be. Speaking on his podcast, Martin Lewis gave a blunt warning: 'This is an important heads-up for women aged 40 to 90, particularly those in their 60s and 70s. 'If you looked after children or a disabled person between 1978 and 2010, you were likely meant to get HRP. But many didn't — and while the government was trying to contact people, it's now stopped doing so.' Although HMRC sent over 370,000 letters to people it believed could be affected, uptake was poor. According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), only 12,379 underpayments were corrected in 2024/25. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Due to the low response rate and 'challenging' nature of correcting the error, the Government has scaled back the compensation programme. Originally, it earmarked £1.2 billion to repay affected pensioners — but this has now been slashed to just £29.8 million, suggesting most people may never see the money they're owed. Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb has criticised the DWP's failure to fix the problem, calling the campaign a 'dismal failure'. 'The vast majority affected are women — some underpaid for decades or who even died before being paid the correct pension,' he said. 'The government's admission that most won't get their money is shameful.' How to check if you're owed money You could be eligible if: You were born between roughly 1930 and 1970 (aged 50+ now) You claimed Child Benefit or cared for someone full-time between 1978 and 2010 You have gaps in your National Insurance record You're getting less than the full State Pension (currently £221.20 a week) To find out: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Visit to view your forecast Check if you have gaps in your NI contributions See if those gaps fall between 1978–2010, when you were a stay-at-home parent or unpaid carer If so, you can apply to backdate your HRP credits You can also contact the HMRC National Insurance helpline on 0300 200 3500. Are you struggling to make ends meet as costs continue to rise? You can now send your stories to us online via YourWorld at It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.
