Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“As the Government consultation legacy closes the message from innocent victims and the Unionist community could not be clearer.
“With the Police Federation, innocent victims groups, the Orange Order and the Presbyterian Church all expressing either serious reservations about the proposals or rejecting them outright it is clear that there is broad recognition that the proposals are seriously flawed.
“With Sinn Fein demanding the full implementation of Stormont House it is obvious that the proposals don’t offer any serious prospect of PIRA being pursued for their crimes. There is, however, a very real danger that the Bill will aid the rewriting of history through its grossly disproportionate
focus on the security forces.
“Following the Stormont House Agreement the then DUP leader said the deal was “as much as and more than we have ever been able to do on these issues in the past. So it is a very significant agreement”.
‘The Fresh Start Agreement of 2015 was announced to great fanfare by the DUP and Sinn Fein. It stated: “These talks were convened to address the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) of 23 December 2014.”
“Now, after months of almost daily platform pieces in the News Letter on the matter the DUP have at last managed to say something on the Bill which implements those agreements. They tells us they have “major concerns”.
“But what are these “major concerns”? If they have belatedly managed to find reverse gear on legacy that is welcome but it behoves them to make it clear to the Government that there can be no question of the Bill going through Parliament. They have the numbers to do that so why don’t they?
“Given that the DUP’s fingerprints are all over these Stormont House proposals the public are entitled to know what the party has actually said to the Government in their response. They have completely sat the debate out. Other parties are clear on where they stand. Innocent victims are clear on what they think. It’s time we saw the the DUP official response.
“All Unionists must do all in their power to stop the legacy scandal. We owe it to future generations not to allow the good name of the RUC and UDR to be dragged through the gutter – which is precisely where these proposals will take us.”