Letter signatories right to seek legacy clarity from candidates

Among the signatories right are organisations that represent prison officers, veterans, ex RUC and victims and survivors of terrorism.

Their complaints will be of little surprise to News Letter readers, because we have for years chronicled the almost unreal things that are happening over the past.

The collusion distortion, for example, to imply that the UK state was murderous when the opposite is so. Every branch of the security forces knew the worst terrorists and patiently tried to thwart them, which became increasingly hard as they got better at evading justice. Far from being shot, terrorist leaders thrived and many people died as a result. The trial of lowly soldiers is another sore point in which the public sense that IRA leaders will never face trial (lowly IRA might well do). And, worst of all, the fact that security forces who saved this society from ruin are being damned in various investigations that do not meet a criminal burden of proof, while terrorists are not so judged.

Therefore, as the letter writers do, we too encourage voters to find out where their candidates stand on this outrage. Some like Doug Beattie MC have long spoken against the travesty but others have taken refuge behind strong but vague criticism of terror and support of veterans. Such sentiments are useless the legacy scandal is overturned.

• Open letter plea on legacy