Ulster Unionist Justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA, has called for any future talks on legacy to include victims of terrorism. This follows a statement which was released on Saturday from the organisers of the talks at Lambeth Palace.

Mr Beattie said:

“The statement released by the organisers of the talks at Lambeth Palace raises more questions than answers. They state that no political parties were invited to this talks process, yet Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillon said on Friday that they were. Both can`t be right. If Sean Murray wasn`t at the legacy talks representing Sinn Fein, who was he representing?

“There has also been a concerted effort from some to dismiss genuine concerns about the secrecy surrounding these legacy talks. If there`s no secrecy as they claim, publish the invitee list, the invitations, the agenda and state who has been invited to the next meeting. Some participants have tried to downplay the event as merely ‘a seminar.’ If that is the case, why is there another meeting planned for the coming week? That looks more like a process than a single seminar. And were there any previous meetings of this group that we haven’t been told about? 

“It`s about time that the UK Government woke up to the fact that the Stormont House Legacy provisions are a non-runner. The fact that the organisers openly admit that the basis for these talks was a paper advocating implementation of elements of the Stormont House Agreement legacy provisions by the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Queen`s University academic Professor Kieran McEvoy, demonstrates that they aren`t listening.

“Terrorist victims who opposed the Stormont House Agreement since its inception have been disgracefully ignored. The fact that these legacy talks took place without those voices being heard or indeed any victims of terrorism, tells you all you need to know about the skewed outlook on legacy which places the needs of terrorists ahead of those of their victims.”