A controversial proposal to pay £12,000 to the families of all those died in the Troubles - including the families of paramilitaries - will not be implemented, the British government has announced.
The recognition payment was one of 31 recommendations made by a group commissioned to investigate ways of dealing with the legacy of the past.
Northern Ireland secretary of state Shaun Woodward said although there were many workable elements of the Eames/Bradley report, he ruled out the introduction of the payment scheme.
The contentious suggestion prompted angry protests from families of those killed by terrorists. Mr Woodward said the proposal could not be introduced given the lack of consensus on the issue.
“The only way to go forward with this is if we can establish consensus on it,” he said.
"It is my view having studied this very carefully that very clearly there is huge disagreement about this particular proposal. I therefore think it would be helpful to make it clear that the government’s response to Eames/Bradley report will not include accepting that recommendation.”
The Secretary of State clarified the British government’s position ahead of an appearance by the report’s authors, former Church of Ireland archbishop Robin Eames and former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Denis Bradley - at a Westminster committee today.
They are to be questioned by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which is carrying out a “short inquiry” into the findings.
The total cost of implementing all the proposals was estimated at about £300 million.
Other recommendations in their report included:
- A five-year Legacy Commission with an international chairman to investigate many of the more than 3,600 killings. In a twin-track approach, it would offer relatives the chance to pursue prosecutions or forgo that to instead seek information on how their loved one died.
- Taking over the work of police units looking into the past would save an estimated £100 million.
- It would work with a Reconciliation Forum to tackle issues such as sectarianism and addiction, with the help of a £100 million bursary.
- It did not propose an amnesty for crimes from the Trouble, but argued a line may be drawn on the past when the five-year Legacy Commission ended.
- Current public inquiries would finish, but no more would be established.
The report also challenged politicians to take a lead role in the future at an annual day of reflection and reconciliation.
Mr Woodward said the report’s author had carried out monumental work and said many of the recommendations had a lot of potential. “There are really interesting ideas and those ideas we would like to look at very carefully,” he said.
Mr Bradley welcomed what he said was Mr Woodward’s broad backing for other aspects of the proposals.
“I am very pleased that we had a very, very positive response from the Secretary of State in that he recognises that this [the report] is the way forward and he is putting his people to work on it and that is a very positive development,” Mr Bradley said.
He said the British government would eventually reconsider the recognition payments plan as a means of recognising the suffering of all those bereaved. “People will come back to it in a few years time,” said Mr Bradley.
“The proposal may be inept . . .
but this is an issue that every conflict in the world has to settle.” He added: “I am very pleased by the Secretary of State’s initial reaction. He has understood the report and the issue.”
Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson welcomed the decision to drop the £12,000 recognition payment proposal. The DUP leader claimed the payments would have been grossly offensive and entirely inappropriate.
“It would have drawn no distinction whatsoever between murderers and the innocent people murdered during the Troubles,” he said. The DUP made it clear to the Government that this proposal was unacceptable.
“Both the prime minister and the secretary of state were left in no doubt that people in Northern Ireland would never accept this morally offensive idea," he said. “I welcome this sensible decision that the Government will not be proceeding to implement the £12,000 pay-off idea.”
SDLP victims spokeswoman Dolores Kelly called on the British government to ensure that their agencies delivered truth and reconciliation for victims.
“Today’s decision by the secretary of state to rule out a £12,000 payment to all families bereaved as a result of the Troubles was somewhat inevitable,” she said. "The SDLP raised concerns about this proposal from the start and are on the record as saying this particular recommendation needed revisiting.
“However, it is worth remembering that this is only one element of a comprehensive report which contains many worthy issues that merit careful consideration."
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister had protested at the Belfast ceremony to launch the Eames/Bradley report.
He said: “The decision by the secretary of state to pull the £12,000 payment is a direct result of pressure from innocent victims.
“Those who made it clear that they would not accept a payment which would imply that they see no difference between those who suffered from terrorism and those who perpetrated it are to be congratulated for their principled stand.
“I deeply regret that the insensitive proposals put forward by Eames/Bradley have opened up old wounds and caused deep hurt among innocent victims.”
Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson also welcomed Mr Woodward’s decision. “I am delighted that the Secretary of State has let common sense prevail,” he said.
The Commission for Victims and Survivors urged the British Government and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland to give the recommendations of the Consultative Group on the Past full consideration.
Commissioner Patricia MacBride said: “We would hope that the secretary of state has decided to publicly set aside this element of the report at this time in order that the remaining 30 recommendations can be studied in their entirety.
PA