Ulster Unionist Justice Spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC, MLA, has warned that the Government’s legacy consultation proposals fall well short of what is required.   

Doug Beattie said:

“The Government’s long delayed and equally long-awaited consultation process on dealing with the past, based on the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, looks to be a slap in the face for victims.

“We have repeatedly warned the Government that the definition of a victim needed to be revisited and amended to ensure that those who were injured by their own hand are not treated the same way as those who were injured through no fault of their own.   

“We have also made clear our support for the award of a pension for those innocent victims of the Troubles.

“The failure to address both of these issues are nothing less than a slap in the face for victims.

“There is no question that the existing situation as it relates to Legacy is entirely unacceptable and unsatisfactory.

“As it stands today, terrorist suspects are able to avail of shortened sentences, On The Run letters of comfort and the award of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy whilst former soldiers – many of them ill and elderly – are subjected to multiple investigations, arrests and interrogations. 

“This explains why the idea of a Statute of Limitations sounds so appealing as a possible mechanism whereby the current imbalance could be addressed.

“However, legal experts have already warned that any attempts to introduce a Statute of Limitations to protect soldiers and police officers from prosecution would inevitably have to be extended to cover all Troubles-related deaths and open the door to a general amnesty for everyone, including terrorists.

“We are very clear that a Statute of Limitations cannot and should not lead to a general amnesty that would include terrorists. Any mechanism that does cannot be supported by the Ulster Unionist Party.   

“We need to be very careful that in our desire to prevent former police officers and soldiers being the victims of a witch-hunt, we do not inadvertently open the door to an amnesty for the very terrorists they risked their lives to defeat.

“What is clear is that the Government must find a way to protect all those who served in Uniform and who defended this community against terrorism.

“Furthermore, the DUP and Sinn Fein need to disclose the role which these issues have played in their recent two-party talks.”