Member's statement: Philippa Reynolds
Member's statement by Mr Jon Burrows on .
- MLA
- Mr Jon Burrows
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 9 February 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Philippa Reynolds
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5369012
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I pay tribute to a fallen former colleague who died on duty in Londonderry at this time 13 years ago. Philippa Reynolds was on patrol in the dead of night, when most of us, including me, were asleep. Her car was T-boned by a stolen car driven by career criminal, Shane Frane, and, we believe, Philippa was killed instantly. I had the painful duty of bringing Philippa's family to see her remains in Altnagelvin Area Hospital. Philippa was a beautiful human being and a brilliant police officer. After her death, it became clear that the vivacious photograph that was released of Philippa changed a lot of perceptions of the police in 2013 in a city that still had an ambivalent relationship with the police. So many people contacted us to say that they no longer saw the police as behind armoured glass, in armoured cars and wearing body armour but as human beings. In that sense, Philippa's legacy is a powerful one. I have stayed in touch with her family of late, who still feel profound grief. It is worth noting that, when headlines move on after a crime, it is easy to forget the profound grief that the victims and families feel. They mourn Philippa every day. Tragically, they lost another daughter last year to cancer. However, what struck me about Philippa's family in the days after her death was that, when they spoke to the media, her father, who had served before her, in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, told the world's media that he had brought Philippa up to treat everyone the same and that he was proud that, when she went out in uniform as he had done, she left politics and people's religion behind. I pay tribute to Philippa so that she is never forgotten; that she is always remembered. She was a wonderful human being. It is important that those who serve never forget those who served and never came home after their shift.
329 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.95).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.95 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.04 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.48 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.31 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.18 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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