Dr Sandra Peake, CEO of the WAVE Trauma Centre, has said that the legacy legislation introduced in the House of Commons can only be welcomed if it really does ‘repeal and replace’ the hated legislation of the previous government with a process in which victims and survivors can have confidence.

In a statement on the New Legacy Legislation Dr Peake said: ‘Victims and survivors have been promised so much, so many times over the years only to be bitterly disappointed at what they were expected to accept.

‘Everyone with their interests at heart will want to examine this legislation and the structures that develop out of it very closely to see if it really can deliver a victims’ centred process.

‘At WAVE we have made our position clear to the Government: Operation Kenova with its robust, independent criminal justice approach and genuine engagement with victims and survivors was the best example of how to deal with these complex and hugely sensitive issues.

‘In our view that is the standard by which the new Legacy Commission should be judged’.