Sinn Fein urged to reflect on role played by Provisional IRA during Troubles
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher outlined his concerns around the costs in terms of financial and staffing resources, but also reputational damage because they had not been funded sufficiently to deal with legacy.
He urged more resources as well as a focus on victims, and that an approach to dealing with the past be agreed.
Dealing with the past was not included in the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and subsequent deals, including the Stormont House accord in 2014, were not progressed.
Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly responded to Mr Boutcher, hailing what he said seemed to be a 'new philosophy of approach' and potentially a 'watershed moment'.
'I have sat in front of many chief constables and you're the first chief constable who has said we need to change this in a radical way,' he said.
Mr Kelly also said that while 'nothing is perfect', the Stormont House Agreement saw most of the parties and the British and Irish governments in agreement.
He blamed the UK for 'pulling out' of that agreement.
But DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said many in the unionist community felt 'they were let down particularly by Sinn Fein and others', and in reference to the party's historic relationship with the Provisional IRA, said they were 'the biggest cause of victims in Northern Ireland'.
'It seems ironic listening to Gerry speak at the minute that there is no reflection on what part Sinn Fein and the IRA played during the Troubles,' he said.
'I know it's not Stormont, it's not a political debating chamber but I think it has to be said that if everyone is to be honest and everyone wants to be honest, then everyone should be honest and should all come to the table honest in terms of the parts that they played during the Troubles, as opposed to working on the small numbers that the security forces were involved in.
'I certainly want to put on record our party's concerns around the process, sympathies with police in how they deal with it, but there is a section of the community will never be satisfied unless the victim makers stand in the courts and actually own up to their part as well.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
India rejects UK parliament report on transnational repression
India has launched a blistering counterattack against a UK parliamentary report that accused it of waging 'transnational repression' on British soil and misusing global policing tools like INTERPOL to silence political dissidents. In a strongly worded statement on India's foreign ministry denounced the allegations as 'baseless,' 'politically motivated,' and 'drawn from dubious and discredited sources.' 'The deliberate reliance on unverified inputs from proscribed entities with a long record of anti-India hostility calls into question the credibility and objectivity of the entire report,' said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, dismissing the claims as an orchestrated smear. The rare diplomatic rebuke was triggered by the release of a hard-hitting report titled 'Transnational Repression in the UK' on July 30 by the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights — a powerful cross-party body comprising lawmakers from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. The report accuses multiple foreign governments of targeting exiled dissidents, activists, and journalists who have sought refuge in the UK, creating what it describes as a 'chilling effect' on diaspora communities. India was named among 12 countries, including China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, allegedly involved in such practices. While the report reserves its sharpest criticism for what it terms the 'three most flagrant perpetrators' — China, Russia, and Iran — India's inclusion, particularly the accusation of abusing INTERPOL's Red Notice mechanism for political ends, has sparked sharp pushback from New Delhi. The committee's findings draw heavily from evidence submitted by UK-based Sikh advocacy groups, including the Sikh Federation (UK) and Sikhs for Justice. These groups allege that Indian authorities have sought to weaponise international policing tools to harass and intimidate diaspora voices, especially those supporting the Khalistan separatist movement — a claim India has long dismissed as misinformation propagated by extremist elements. While the report has reignited debate within Britain over how to protect residents from foreign interference, India's sharp reaction signals a potential diplomatic flashpoint — particularly amid already sensitive ties following the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year, which also raised questions around cross-border intelligence operations. As both countries navigate a delicate relationship shaped by strategic partnerships and domestic political pressures, the fallout from this latest allegation is likely to echo beyond Westminster and Raisina Hill.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: 'Naked man hides in sunbed after trying to burn down gym'
From naked alleged arsonists to robot rabbits, your round-up of this week's bonkers news from across the Pond Donald Trump has once again proven he is the most mathematically illiterate US president to ever walk the face of the earth. In a rambling speech, the US leader rattled off a series of impossible promises that would make even a calculator give up and walk off the job. 'We will have reduced drug prices by 1,000%, by 1,100%, 1,200%, 1,300%, 1,400%, 700%, 600%,' Trump proudly announced, as if counting backwards from reality. 'Not 30% or 40% or 50%. But numbers the likes of which you've never even dreamed of.' He's not wrong, because no one with a functioning brain has ever dreamed of prices dropping more than 100%, unless the plan is for pharmacies to start paying customers to take pills. Critics were quick to point out that the math defies every economic principle short of science fiction. But in Trump's world, facts are fake news and maths is just another Deep State conspiracy. *** Florida deputies were called to a Planet Fitness gym in San Carlos Park after a naked man allegedly tried to burn the place down. Henry Antunez-Alvarado, 25, had reportedly been asked to leave at closing time but instead he stripped down, ran amok, and attempted a bizarre blend of yoga, parkour and arson. Security footage shows him streaking through multiple rooms, climbing into the ceiling like a raccoon, and eventually hiding - still stark naked - inside a tanning bed. Deputies charged him with indecent exposure, arson, criminal mischief, and giving false ID. Planet Fitness is famous for promoting a 'Judgement-Free Zone', but this might be pushing it. *** It's happy hour by mistake. High Noon has issued a voluntary recall after some of its vodka seltzer cans were accidentally labelled as energy drinks. The mix-up, affecting packs shipped between July 21 and 23, has officials worried that unsuspecting gym-goers could chug a cocktail instead of a caffeine boost. *** Officials at a South Carolina nuclear facility got more than a sting when they discovered a wasp nest emitting 100,000 disintegrations per minute - a moderately high level of radiation. The Department of Energy report says the glowing hive was found near a tank at the Savannah River Site and is considered 'legacy contamination', meaning it's haunted by radiation past, not present. So no, the wasps didn't break into the reactor... but they are now officially more dangerous than your average garden nuisance. *** In a move straight out of a sci-fi wildlife documentary, University of Florida researchers have unleashed 40 solar-powered, remote-controlled robot bunnies into South Florida. Stuffed with heaters and motors instead of fluff, these fake marsh rabbits are designed to mimic the favourite snack of Burmese pythons, the massive invasive snakes that have turned the Everglades into their personal buffet since slithering in via the exotic pet trade. They hope the robot rabbits will help catch some of the serpents to stop them from breeding. *** Sometimes sharing a famous name isn't all it's cracked up to be. Geoffrey Epstein is running for mayor of Framingham, Massachusetts and no, not that Epstein. Despite being very much alive and not a disgraced financier, Geoff still gets flooded with online comments like 'show us the list'. One internet geek even posted his campaign flyer asking, 'Is this guy for real?' Supporters were quick to defend him: 'He's got good ideas about the city's finances,' said one. Just, maybe skip the name tags.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Miliband refuses to publish details of green energy deal with China
Following the decision, the Ministry of Defence raised concerns that the Chinese could use the turbines as spy sensors – but the Treasury was said to be resisting attempts to block the deal because of a desire to encourage inward investment. In Freedom of Information disclosures, the Government revealed that while Mr Miliband had been in China from March 13 to 17, Ofgem officials stayed until March 21. The officials, including Mr Brearley, used four temporary 'burner' phones while in the country, a standard security precaution government visitors are advised to take while in China. An Ofgem spokesman said: 'We always seek to keep expenditure as low as possible to deliver the best value for money and we regularly review our business travel and expenses policy in order to minimise the number of flights Ofgem staff take.' The group's food, local transport, and accommodation costs were paid for by the Foreign Office, the British embassy in China and the UK Integrated Security Fund, they added. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insisted it was 'misleading' to suggest memorandums signed with other countries are made 'publicly available'. A spokesman said: 'The MoU is not about encouraging Chinese investment or involvement in the UK critical national infrastructure. 'Instead, it renews a partnership that has been in place for over ten years, and which facilitates the sharing of research and ideas to support the global clean energy transition.'
