No time limit on justice for On The Runs: Paisley

The North Antrim MP Ian Paisley made the comments in welcoming progress on bringing 30 of those in receipt of an On The Run letter to justice.

However he has also warned that victims’ expectations should not be prematurely raised.

Mr Paisley, a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee who conducted an inquiry in to the issuing of On The Run letters in 2014, said there should be no time limit on justice.

He said: “These letters corrupted justice. Her Majesty’s Government has made clear that the so-called On-The-Run Letters now have no legal standing. It is welcome news that the PSNI legacy branch is pursuing justice in the cases.

“There should be no time-limit on justice. The gunman or bomber should never be able to stop looking over their shoulder.

“The impact of this corrupt scheme ran far and wide with the then Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris telling our Committee that 95 recipients of the letters were linked to almost 300 murders.

“Finally, my only concern is that victims expectation levels are increased only to be dashed therefore the investigators should be careful not to talk up prosecutions and prematurely build up hopes.

“Let’s see the Prosecution Service put people in the dock. Gathering evidence and a water tight case should be the priority rather than newspaper headlines.”

The News Letter revealed on Saturday that the Police Service of Northern Ireland is planning to arrest “a number” of the 33 IRA members who were classed as wanted by police before they received so-called government ‘comfort’ letters.