Anger over proposal to give funds for legacy probes to victims

Condemnation: Willie Frazer A PROPOSAL by eight peers — including four former Secretaries of State — that legacy funding should be given to victims rather than investigations has drawn criticism.

Both unionists and nationalists have opposed the idea, while victims campaigner Willie Frazer described the suggestion as “unhelpful and insulting”.

Mr Frazer, who lost five family members during the Troubles including his father, said: “Abdicating investigative responsibility creates a blanket amnesty and would be reflective of how morally corrupt Northern Ireland has become.

“Those who perpetrated terrorism cannot be let off the hook for the sake of political or budgetary convenience.

“The truly innocent victims will not be conned or bought, the fight for truth, justice and closure continues.”

An Ulster Unionist spokesman said they did not support “denying victims or their families the opportunity to pursue truth and justice, no matter how remote some might rate the chances of success in terms of prosecutions”.

“That is their right and it is a choice for those families to make and we would not support any moves to ‘draw a line’ or introduce some form of amnesty, de facto or otherwise,” he said.

Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillion said victims and survivors have repeatedly said “that even where there is no expectation of prosecution, the investigative process for them is as much about establishing the truth of how their loved ones died”.

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said: “Victims and survivors have varied needs and preferences, but across the board there is significant demand for an investigate process providing answers, even with a recognition of limited prospect of prosecutions.”

A government spokeswoman said they were pleased so many people had responded to the NIO’s legacy consultation.

“The Government will now consider carefully all the views received and provide a response as soon as we can,” she added.