Mike Nesbitt: People must be made aware of plans for parallel police force on legacy

The Northern Ireland Victims' Commissioner Judith Thompson has commented on the lack of proactivity by government in regard to the current NIO legacy consultation.
By The Newsroom
Published 25th Jul 2018, 01:40 BST
Updated 25th Jul 2018, 15:14 BST
The new HIU police force will run in parallel with the PSNI, with the same powers of arrest, detention and the restThe new HIU police force will run in parallel with the PSNI, with the same powers of arrest, detention and the rest
The new HIU police force will run in parallel with the PSNI, with the same powers of arrest, detention and the rest

This may well be the most important public consultation since the 1998 agreement, but unlike 20 years ago, the NIO is making almost no effort to engage the public.

It is imperative that people understand these proposals include establishing a new police force to run in parallel with the PSNI, with the same powers of arrest, detention and the rest, yet they will ignore the needs of the 47,000 who were injured as a result of the Troubles.

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It would be unimaginable that the PSNI could adopt a policy of only investigating road traffic incidents that resulted in fatalities and slammed the investigative door on the injured, but that is exactly what is proposed for the Historical Investigations Unit.

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The pubic still have time to make their views known and I encourage them to do so now. It is not necessary to answer every question.

It is perfectly acceptable to simply post an overarching comment at the end of the questionnaire.

The closing date for submitting responses is Monday September 10 which is just six over weeks away.

It can be completed online at: https://consultations.nidirect.gov.uk/nio-legal-policy-branch/07df6f91/consultation/intro/

Mike Nesbitt, Ulster Unionist MLA, Strangford

Related topics:PeopleMike NesbittNIOPSNI