'On-the-run' scheme flawed but not unlawful, inquiry finds
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Version 0 of 1. The post-Troubles scheme devised to reassure Irish republican "on-the-runs" (OTRs) that they were no longer wanted by the police was lawful and did not give terrorist suspects an amnesty, an independent review has concluded. The report by Lady Justice Hallett criticises the procedure which grew out of the Northern Ireland peace process as "flawed" but acknowledges that it was unprecedented. It found two new cases where "not wanted" notices were incorrectly issued. If the scheme had been properly administered, she says, no letter of reassurance would have been sent to John Downey, the republican charged with carrying out the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing that killed four soldiers. The prosecution of Downey collapsed earlier this year after it was discovered that he had been carrying a letter of reassurance and believed he was free to travel to the UK. The judge in the case ruled that it would be an abuse of process to continue his trial. The three-month investigation carried out by Hallett, as a result of the Downey case, found the further errors, where letters had been wrongly issued, involved a mistake over a date of birth and where someone was wanted for an offence committed after the Good Friday agreement. Hallett insists suspects had never been provided with a "get out of jail free card". Although the scheme was treated by officials as being sensitive, it was never classified as secret. The failures in the procedure were more systemic than individual, the report says. "The Northern Ireland Office should have realised from the start, or at least shortly after the first list of 36 names was submitted by Sinn Féin, on May 19th 2000, that there needed to be a proper structure for the process," it says. The names of those hoping to benefit from letters of reassurance were put forward by Sinn Féin, the Irish government and the Northern Irish Prison Service. Other political parties told the investigation they were unaware of the scheme. But Hallett notes: "There were sufficient references to the overall scheme … to put an astute observer on the alert, notwithstanding the replies to the First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson, and Lady Hermon by Peter Hain MP [then Northern Ireland secretary]". The attorney general and the director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland participated in the process, adopting the normal evidential tests of whether there was a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether it would be in the public interest to charge any republican OTR. Hallett says the letters sent out were not all flawless. "The individual letters of assurance were intended to inform individuals, where appropriate, that, as at the date of the letter, the recipient was 'not wanted' for questioning or prosecution in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK." The report continues: "They should have contained a caveat that if new evidence or intelligence came to light or circumstances changed, the recipient might face arrest." Altogether 228 names were put forward, the vast majority submitted by Sinn Féin. Of the total, 156 people received individual letters of assurance and another 31 were informed in other ways that they were not wanted. Twenty-three OTRs were told they were wanted and 18 are still left without a definitive answer about their status. The first two letters were signed by Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's chief of staff in June 2000. Thirteen OTRs were granted the royal prerogative of mercy, all of them being convicted prisoners who had escaped after serving some of their sentence. Other than Downey, none of the other republicans have been identified in the report. They are listed only by number in an appendix. The report expresses reservations about the scheme's operation, pointing out that it "lacked proper lines of responsibility, accountability and safeguards". "When errors came to light, opportunities were missed to rectify them and review the scheme as a whole … There was no agreed policy on communicating the existence of the scheme." There was inadequate liaison with police and prosecutors in other parts of the UK, the report finds. Hallett concludes: "The administrative scheme was not unlawful in principle … [and] did not grant immunity from prosecution. "However the scheme is characterised, I have found nothing which, to the mind of this independent observer, should be allowed to undermine the peace process in Northern Ireland. "One catastrophic mistake has been made and it cannot be undone. The families of those killed in the Hyde Park bombing have no choice but to come to terms with the fact, as devastating as I know it has been for them. "Other mistakes have been made and need correcting. But this cane be done in a measured and proportionate way. No one should use my findings to make political capital. Those whose lives have been devastated by terrorism deserve better. They have suffered enough." Presenting the report to the Commons, the Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, said: "The judgment in the case of John Downey was the result of an error. The government will now take whatever steps are necessary … to remove barriers to future prosecutions." The report has a lengthy annex detailing the scores of occasions when the on-the-runs scheme was publicly referred to in the media or during parliamentary debates. On May 7th, 2002, it notes that the Rev Ian Paisley, the DUP leader, told the Northern Ireland assembly: "The union flag is banned from government buildings for most of the year. Security installations have been removed, on-the-run terrorist have been pardoned and there has been discrimination against victims in funding." |