Ulster Unionist Justice spokesperson Tom Elliott has demanded answers following the latest revelations surrounding the On The Run letters.
Mr Elliott said:
"The revelations that Gerry Kelly acted in the role of postman for the On The Run letters merely raise more questions about this whole sorry saga, not least the active role played by Gerry Kelly himself and Sinn Fein.
“It is time that the Northern Ireland Office and Sinn Fein state just how many other individuals have received letters in connection with crimes that have taken place after 1998.
“Gerry Kelly’s claims that ‘there is no name for a recipient so I don’t know who the letter is to or what it is about’ is simply the latest in a long line of republican fairy tales, almost on a par with Gerry Adams protestations that he was never in the IRA.
“If Gerry Kelly was handing out letters as Sinn Fein’s postman, is he really saying that he had no idea who he was supposed to hand them to? Did he not check they were going to the intended recipient? Or were they blank?
“The Northern Ireland Office and the Secretary of State need to state very clearly if these letters are indeed worthless and if so, the Police need to start making arrests. Any assurances that these letters cannot be relied upon carry no weight as long as they are still being successfully used as ‘stay out of jail’ cards.
“It is intolerable that the Police cannot investigate certain crimes or question certain individuals, So far we have had the John Downey case and now we have the murder of Gareth O’Connor. One has to ask just how many other cases are in the pipeline and have been tainted by this process?
“There is no question that this whole saga has brought the local justice system into disrepute. What has been done here in the name of justice is corruption that would shame Sicily. No matter how anyone tries to spin this, the fact remains that terrorist suspects were supplied with ‘stay out of jail free’ letters by the UK Government, placing them beyond the law. As a result, crimes committed both before and after 1998 have not been properly investigated and grieving relatives have no prospect of getting justice. And the State will have collaborated to ensure that terrorists literally got away with murder.”