Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“This morning I released a statement on foot of yesterday’s Finance Committee meeting in which an official advised that a sum of £430m tucked away on page 217 of the Spring Supplementary Estimates was for the Victims’ Pension.
“I know that on foot of that statement questions were put to the Department by the press. Unbelievably, at 17:50 this evening, a letter was issued to members of the Finance Committee advising that the official had made a mistake and that the £430m is NOT for the Victims’ Pension Scheme but is rather for survivors of Historical Institutional Abuse.
“A better explanation than the one proffered in the letter – that it was an “unintentional error” – is required. Once again innocent victims have been let down. The prospect of the pension issue being resolved has been dangled before them only for it to be snatched away. What complete shambles.
“While no one would deny the survivors of institutional abuse the compensation to which they are entitled, for many it will serve to highlight the fact that there is NO provision for innocent victims of terrorism. This is absolutely shameful and totally unacceptable.”