We deeply regret that the Stormont House Agreement has been announced just before the Christmas and New Year break. It could not have come at a worse time for bereaved families who are left wondering what it means for them after years of grief and struggling to get to the truth. We also deeply regret there is no mention of the promised inquiry into Pat Finucanes murder anywhere in the proposals. The PFC pledges to do all it can after the holidays to discuss the proposals with individual families and to reflect on how they may affect your concerns. In the meantime, however, these are the main points as we currently understand them: 1. The Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) which will replace the HET is proposed to be independent - but we dont know how truly independent it will be. 2. The status of families whose cases have been through the HET process, but who were unhappy with the outcome, has yet to be established. Will they be entitled to a HIU re-examination? 3. All RMP (Royal Military Police) cases will be referred to the HIU automatically (these are cases where British soldiers killed people and there were woefully inadequate, if any, investigations). 4. All inquests and civil actions that have already begun will not be affected and the Coroners Courts will be resourced to comply with Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights 5. Cases already accepted as within remit by the Police Ombudsman will become HIU cases. 6.Victims and survivors will have a high quality service. Having experienced the current Victims and Survivors Service, we will be demanding huge improvements. 7. It is unclear if there will be any way for families to know that London is refusing to disclose evidence on grounds of national security, let alone if the HIU will have the powers to challenge any such decision. 8. The status of families in the 26 counties who have not already had their complaints accepted by the Police Ombudsman is also unclear. We hope to clarify this as soon as we can. There are other proposals equally important as those above, such as the setting up of an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval which will offer limited immunity for those offering information to families who voluntarily engage. But we hope you understand it is difficult to go into detail here and impossible to answer all your justifiable questions. Again, we will do all we can in early January to explain the proposals and begin answering all the many questions that families will undoubtedly have. In the meantime, we wish all the people with whom we work as peaceful a Christmas as possible in these difficult circumstances. We look forward to working alongside you in 2015.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 15:53:14 +0000
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