Stormont police cost £8K a week

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The annual cost of policing the NI Assembly is £413,000, the Commission which runs the building has said.

Seven police officers are on duty during days when the chamber is in session, at a cost of £8,000 a week.

Commissioner Sean Neeson said loyalist killer Michael Stone's attempt to kill the Sinn Fein leadership at Stormont had an impact on the number of police.

Stone was jailed last December for 16 years for trying to murder Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams in 2006.

He had tried to enter the building but was wrestled to the ground and disarmed by security officers.

"The Michael Stone incident did impact very much upon the numbers of police personnel who have been taken on board to secure this building," said Mr Neeson, who is a member of the Assembly Commission.