Ulster Unionist Peer, Lord Empey, has stated that he is disgusted by Paul Givan`s comments during the Assembly debate about the on the runs, where he tried to place responsibility on the Ulster Unionist Party for a process that was established between the Government and Sinn Fein which led to the issuing of 187 letters to suspected terrorists.

Lord Empey said:

“I am disgusted to hear that DUP MLA, Paul Givan, slurred me, Lord Trimble and the Ulster Unionist Party by trying to implicate us in the issuing of 187 letters to suspected terrorists when it happened on the DUP`s watch.

“Let me be clear. Neither I nor any other member of the Ulster Unionist Party had any knowledge of or gave any support to this ghastly and underhand scheme. At ALL times we advocated a judicial process for the OTRs where they would give themselves up to the police and face the courts like any other suspects.

“It was well known that Sinn Fein was campaigning about the OTR issue for years, both before, during and after the Weston Park Talks of July 2001.

“Those talks were convened after David Trimble had resigned as First Minister and were looking at IRA decommissioning, Police reforms etc.

“While we do not know what went on between the Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Sinn Fein, as it was Mr Blair's practice to hold largely separate discussions with each party, there was NO agreement at Weston Park on any of the matters under discussion. It was some 5/6 years AFTER Weston Park before the administrative scheme was introduced by Secretary Hain.

“Mr Givan will be able to do the mathematics himself. His Party has led unionism since 2003, so if he is seeking answers he need go no further than speak to the 'great negotiators' Paisley, Robinson and Dodds who clearly failed to identify this deal during the talks they held with Mr Blair before they shared power with Sinn Fein in 2007. He might also ask why, when his Party agreed to the devolution of policing and Justice at Hillsborough in 2010, his negotiators had clearly failed to ask what deals were done before bowing to Sinn Fein demands to remove policing powers from Westminster.

“For most of 2009 Sinn Fein had held the Executive to ransom by refusing to allow it to meet for months unless policing powers were devolved. Mr Givan might also recall that the Ulster Unionist Party did not support devolving police powers at that stage because there had been no discussions or agreement between the parties on how policing and justice matters were to be handled.

“The result has been that the National Crime Agency does not fully operate in Northern Ireland because Sinn Fein vetoed it and now we have the revelations that there was a secret deal done and continuing to function to this day which DUP negotiators failed to identify.

“The 'Duke of York' like tactics of Peter Robinson in the last few days have shown how pathetic the threat to resign was. The scheme continues, the letters will not be revoked, the names will not be published and if the narrowly based administrative review finds any further mistakes in other letters, the holder of such a letter will be able to use the same defence as Mr Downey.

“All told a sad day for Northern Ireland, and the outrageous comments on social media by Mr Givan's colleague Peter Weir, who said yesterday was a 'victory for victims' makes most right thinking people squirm.”