Brandon Lewis should explain the delay to the victims’ pension guidelines, which looks like a bid to placate republicans

The first crucial thing to understand is that the UK government had already been weak on the matter, even when in the last Westminster parliament it supposedly ruled out pensions for terrorists.

It had given leeway to a panel which would rule on eligibility for payments in contentious cases. That looked like an attempt to placate republicans and to ensure that payments would go to most terrorist applicants, even if the most egregious cases were barred (such as those injured as a result of their own actions to try to murder other human beings).

Anyone who has even a basic familiarity with the way that ‘committees’ deal with contested matters in Northern Ireland, such as on cultural expression, would have no confidence that such a body would make firm rulings on eligibility.

If this is too pessimistic an interpretation of what the government is up to, then why has it delayed publication of pension guidelines? Brandon Lewis had already seemed inclined to placate republicans when he emphasised to the BBC: “Someone who has got a conviction can apply to this scheme.”

As our report on page 10 shows, Sinn Fein are demanding “the full implementation” of the Stormont House Agreement when insisting on reform to the pension plan. It is damning reflection on that deal’s proposals for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles are so to the liking of republicans that they have been making its implementation a demand.

The DUP went ahead with restoring Stormont when Julian Smith upended the widespread belief among talks participants and commentators that legacy would not be part of the January’s deal and committed to legislation within 100 days of it. That pledge has caused no end of difficulty, with the Irish government making clear it will hold the UK to it.

Now the DUP has a chance to spell out how it will respond if victims are again betrayed and the pension guidelines make it easier for republican terrorists to get a victims’ pension.