Doug Beattie MC MLA, Ulster Unionist Party Justice Spokesperson, has stated that whilst the announcement of funding for inquests will be welcomed by the families involved, this will be a bitter sweet moment for many other families in Northern Ireland.

Mr Beattie said:

“The news that the Department of Justice (DoJ) are to make funds available to implement The Lord Chief Justice’s recommendation on Legacy inquests will be welcomed by the families of those who lost their lives. 

“Everyone deserves truth and justice and I hope the inquests go into detail to expose all those who were responsible for the deaths of these 93 men and women. This includes those who sent some of them out, armed and intent on murder, while they sat in the bar drinking beer and slapping themselves on the back oblivious to the carnage that was being perpetrated on our streets.

“It is also worth noting that this will be a bittersweet moment for many families in Northern Ireland.  While those families of the 93 will see inquests sometime in the next six years many others who will not and this will continue to be a slap in the face for many victims and survivors. Therefore I ask the Lord Chief Justice and the DoJ to ensure that this plan for dealing with outstanding legacy inquests does not stop at the 52 cases which are presently opened. Instead it must continue to deliver truth and justice via inquests to the hundreds, if not thousands, of family members who saw their loved ones butchered by republican and loyalist terrorists. Many of these murders were on the orders of those who may now hold high office or positions of influence in Sinn Fein and they should not be free from scrutiny.

“Indeed I feel that the relationship between Sinn Fein and violent republicanism should be the subject of a public inquiry given how much funds are funnelled from the UK and Irish Government into this political party.

“The proposed Legacy Inquest Unit must have a degree of longevity and should not be blinded by a republican narrative or Sinn Fein scavenger policies that will attempt to bog the process down in endless judicial reviews and calls for inquiries while they continue to use victimhood as their own personal political tool.”