Beattie: Amnesty is nothing new – just read the 2014 SHA deal

Doug Beattie, leader of the Ulster Unionists, used his contribution to yesterday’s Troubles amnesty debate to attack the Stormont House Agreement.
By Adam Kula
Published 21st Jul 2021, 10:38 BST
Doug Beattie gesturing in the chamber on TuesdayDoug Beattie gesturing in the chamber on Tuesday
Doug Beattie gesturing in the chamber on Tuesday

That deal was struck in 2014 as a means of breaking the deadlock around welfare reform; at the time, Sinn Fein was refusing to accept any changes to the benefits system, causing devolution to effectively grind to a halt.

And a key plank of the 2020 New Decade New Approach deal – which revived the Assembly after years in abeyance thanks to Sinn Fein walking out of government in 2017 – states that Stormont House Agreement’s (SHA) measures to “address Northern Ireland legacy issues” must be realised in full.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Here is some of what the Stormont House Agreement says about legacy:

> “The Executive will, by 2016, establish an Oral History Archive to provide a central place for people ... to share experiences and narratives related to the Troubles.”

> The government will commission “a factual historical timeline and statistical analysis of the Troubles, to report within 12 months”.

> A Historical Inquiries Unit would be set up to try and solve all murders not already dealt with by a previous unit, the Historical Enquiries Team, within five years. But the agreement stated that the new body would deal with deaths only, not injuries etc.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This is a point the UUP has repeatedly raised in the years since. And yesterday in the Assembly, Mr Beattie said: “If you support the Stormont House Agreement, you support a de facto amnesty – and you do.

“Under the Stormont House Agreement, if you were left limbless, blind, burnt, in a wheelchair or psychologically damaged, you do not get an investigation.

“If you were kidnapped in Northern Ireland, taken across the border, tortured and murdered, there would be no investigation.

“That is what the Stormont House Agreement says... Members can read it, and it will tell them exactly what I have just laid out.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He also renewed his attacks on the Irish state’s legacy record, saying: “Thousands of attacks to maim and kill our citizens emanated from Ireland, across the border, and the perpetrators retreated across the border, but the Irish government are not investigating.”

More on this topic here:

MP states: ‘Why do soldiers need amnesty? They did nothing wrong’

Click here: DUP: ‘No amnesty – too many terrorists freed already’

Click here: ‘Never-ending merry-go-round & chasing rainbows’: Troubles victims on a terror amnesty

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

ALSO... Ex-Conservative chair Brandon Lewis takes swipe at NI social conservatives

——— ———

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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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.