We must see a level playing field on legacy cases
Ulster Unionists Lord Empey and Danny Kinahan MP have said we must see ‘a level playing field’ in the approach to dealing with the past.
Lord Empey and Mr. Kinahan were commenting after a debate in the Lords on Tuesday on the Armed Forces and Defence.
Lord Empey said:
“In the Lords on Tuesday, I listened to a very passionate speech from Lord Astor, who previously served as a Defence Minister, on the case of Dennis Hutchings who he served with while in the Armed Forces.
“Dennis Hutchings, a former member of the Life Guards, is currently facing trial for an incident which resulted in a death in Benburb, Co Tyrone in 1974.
“The Ulster Unionist Party have always been clear that where new evidence comes forward, whether in cases involving members of the security forces or potential terrorists, it should be judged accordingly in a court of law.
“However, the existence of the ‘On the Runs’ scheme means that even when evidence is produced which could lead to the conviction of a terrorist for a legacy case, the suspect facing trail only needs to pull out the comfort letter in their pocket for evidence to be overridden.
“This is before we mention those terrorists who have received royal pardons, who have yet to be identified, indeed, we understand that the Government have lost the list containing the names of many of these persons.
“We are all for fairness in legacy investigations and no one should be above the law, but we need a level playing field and we currently do not have one.
“That is a matter of deep regret.”
Danny Kinahan MP said:
“The case of Dennis Hutchings and the wider issue of moving towards balance in legacy investigations is something which I have been consistently working on since I was elected to Parliament.
“I am pleased that there is now a clear awareness of the difficulties facing our troops regarding investigations, not just for those who served in Northern Ireland, but also in other conflict zones. What we are looking for is balance and fairness.
“The cases of Dennis Hutchings and John Downey could not be more different. Hutchings, a former soldier, was brought before the courts after being told on two separate occasions that he had no case to answer. Downey on the other hand, who was charged with the 1982 Hyde Park bombing, was able to walk free because he was in receipt of a comfort letter issued by the Government to ‘On the Run’ terrorist suspects. This clearly does not amount to equal treatment.
“I will continue to make the case for legacy investigations to be fair, balanced and proportionate, which we are not seeing at the moment.”
ENDS