I've now found clarification of this issue, from Jimbo Wales in a post here: http://mail.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-September/006653.html This seems to provide verification of the issue.
I replaced the existing paraphrased text with Jimbo's verifiable quotes, see http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view&am...
But editors are telling me that:
1. Policy pages aren't subject to the verifiability policy
2. Jimbo is not the supreme lawgiver. The only thing he has made "law" is that having a policy of writing from a neutral point of view is a must. Everything else he has said are contributions from a respected member of the community, as the policies are community-decided.
Comments?
Regards, Ian Tresman