Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“TUV will respond to the consultation in detail at a later date but it is already clear that these proposals fall well short of what innocent victims need and should expect from the Government.
“Most importantly of all there is yet again no attempt to draw a distinction between innocent victims and victim makers. Under these proposals the terrorist injured by his own bomb is seen as the same as the innocent housewife injured in that bombing while going about her shopping. That is perverse and an obscenity. Any proposals which start from this fundamentally flawed premise in terms of something as basic as the definition of what a victim is are bound to be fundamentally flawed.
“There are many other areas of concern in the document. It is clear that ‘legacy inquests’ will continue separately from the new and inferior Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) for example and it is silent on the issue of wether former police officers will be barred from membership of the proposed Historical Investigations Unit.”