Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“I very much welcome the launch of a judicial review by Shankill victim, Elizabeth Morrison, into the odious OTR scheme. This, more than anything, has the potential to blow open the chicanery and political orchestration which lay behind the scheme. A High Court investigation has nigh unlimited powers of compulsion and discovery, in contrast to the limp Hallett review.
“Unlike Hallett, a full judicial review will address the very legality of the OTR administrative scheme. Further, whether the police and the PPS fulfilled their statutory obligations to bring criminals to justice is something that can be explored. The OTR scheme has all the appearance of the police being fettered and the pursuit of justice being abandoned. Such, prima facie, is unlawful, because the law requires that if reasonable suspicion of criminal involvement exists then the suspect should be arrested, interviewed and subjected to any relevant investigative steps, such as forensics.
“The challenge to the Court and judicial process is that it stands tall to demonstrate its political independence and that there is true separation of powers between the executive and the courts. This judicial review, which goes to the heart of meddling by politicians in the due process of the criminal justice system, can become a landmark demonstration of the worth of an independent court process.
“Thus, I greatly welcome this initiative by Elizabeth Morrison. I trust leave for a full judicial review will be granted and that the skullduggery of the OTR scheme can begin to be exposed.”