Brandon Lewis is right to strongly criticise Gerry Kelly’s Maze escape comments but he needs now to speak up also on legacy

First, was the tone. He issued a tweet with exclamation marks that rejoiced in a mass jail break. He joked about the route.

It was completely inappropriate for someone who has been a government minister and who has been entrusted with a key role in running this society.

Second, was the context. A prison officer was stabbed in the escape and went on to die from a heart attack. Others were injured (two warders were shot and fourstabbed).

Most people who are not republican are nonetheless realistic about the fact that in this divided society there has to be significant co-operation between unionists and republicans.

A republican is not going to become a unionist or vice versa. Therefore, views on the past are irreconcilable.

But instead of trying to deflect such divisions and only say such crowing things among like minded people, Mr Kelly put it in that most public and provocative of forums, Twitter.

It is welcome that the secretary of state, Brandon Lewis, has called it “shameful and gratuitous”. Indeed it is surprising, given how UK ministers almost never contradict Sinn Fein. Not a word was said against them for collapsing Stormont. Meanwhile Irish officials pushed nationalist demands.

It is easy to condemn words. Mr Lewis now needs to defend the UK retreat from a legacy process every part of which has turned against state forces. That the state is pumping cash at inquiries into the state is a scandal of far greater magnitude than Mr Kelly’s remarks. The Stormont House legacy plan might have made it worse. Yet UK silence in the face of fierce criticism of its retreat raises the prospect of revival of a plan akin to the mooted Historical Investigations Unit (HIU).

It is hard to see how there can be agreement on legacy. The view that state and terrorist were equally culpable is growing in nationalist Ireland and the UK cannot agree a process that has that as its (undeclared) premise. Mr Lewis must say so.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor