Son of murdered RUC man: It is better than an imperfect pension for victims of the Troubles is paid than none at all

I and many others are grateful to this newspaper for its support over the years for victims of the Troubles and in particular recently for the injured pension.
Rev David Clements (left), whose father was murdered by the IRA, and Alan McBride, whose wife was murdered in the 1993 Shankill bomb, pay tribute to victims of the 1993 loyalist massacre in Greysteel, Co Londonderry on its 25th anniversary. Photo: Liam McBurney/PARev David Clements (left), whose father was murdered by the IRA, and Alan McBride, whose wife was murdered in the 1993 Shankill bomb, pay tribute to victims of the 1993 loyalist massacre in Greysteel, Co Londonderry on its 25th anniversary. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA
Rev David Clements (left), whose father was murdered by the IRA, and Alan McBride, whose wife was murdered in the 1993 Shankill bomb, pay tribute to victims of the 1993 loyalist massacre in Greysteel, Co Londonderry on its 25th anniversary. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

However, the front-page headline on Monday, ‘Wheelchair-bound Troubles victim says ‘I won’t accept pension ‘blood money’ was not particularly helpful.

I have every sympathy with Andrea Brown and others like her (Further comments from victims here: ‘We are not the same as terrorists who forever changed our lives).

My father was also killed by the IRA.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was shot twice, the second time, in the head from 2 inches — a ruthless ‘shoot to kill’ policy.

I have been involved with the WAVE Trauma Centre for years and though not at the heart of the campaign for the pension, I think I know what I am talking about.

The pension is only for those who have been severely injured. It is for those who were injured through no fault of their own.

There are three groups of injured people.

The vast majority are people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and were caught up in bombings or shootings and lost limbs, or eyes, or their sanity. They should get the pension payments now.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Then there are those who were injured (some seriously) because of their own actions. They will not get the pension – ever.

Thirdly, there is a small group that are a grey area — those who may have a conviction but were injured in an incident for which they bore no responsibility.

Under the scheme an independent panel will adjudicate on these few hard cases.

All this seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Let all of us apply the pressure on this issue in the right place.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Executive Office, and Sinn Fein in particular, must fulfil their legal obligations (to say nothing of their moral responsibilities) and implement the Victims and Survivors Payment Scheme without any more delay.

In a world that is far from perfect with many tax avoiders and benefit cheats no payment scheme will be absolutely perfect.

I hope that soon Andrea Brown benefits from the injured pension along with my many injured friends at WAVE. If a few people, from the grey area, get payments, I can live with that and I pray that Andrea can too.

• Rev David Clements is Methodist minister in Cullybackey

——— ———

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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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

Related topics: