Statement by TUV Strangford Assembly candidate Councillor Stephen Cooper:
“Former Chief Constable Sir George Hamilton’s comments about the 2015 murder of Kevin McGuigan, saying it was “sanctioned at senior levels” of the IRA raise profound questions about the state of politics in Northern Ireland in 2022. Here we had a terror group which the former Chief Constable says was directing Sinn Fein at the time murdering Kevin McGuigan.
“Interestingly, Sir George’s remarks are the polar opposite of what the PSNI said in 2015 when they told us they had “no information” on whether the murder was sanctioned or not.
“These comments will reinforce the justifiable perception in many minds that Republicans are treated with kid gloves by the police.
“Victims of IRA violence know that all too often their concerns were brushed aside for the sake of the process. The latest comments about the McGuigan murder will entrench the belief that protecting the process will always come before the need for justice for victims of the Provisionals.”