Government should tell us the true financial cost of Troubles legacy says Jeff Dudgeon
The UK government has been challenged to give its own detailed breakdown of how much the legacy of the Troubles is costing taxpayers.
It comes after the government dismissed the estimates produced by the conservative think-tank Policy Exchange, which stated that somewhere between £0.8bn and £1.4bn had already been spent on legacy matters over the last quarter-century or so.
It also estimated that another £1.3bn in costs stands to be incurred in the future.
The Northern Ireland Office said: “We do not recognise the basis of the figures for any future costs in this report, which are entirely speculative.
“This government is committed to addressing the suffering of victims and survivors of the Troubles in a way that is human rights compliant and proportionate.
"The previous government set aside £250m over five years for the independent commission and other legacy mechanisms and this government remains committed to that figure.
"The last government’s Legacy Act has been found to be unlawful, so whoever was in Government would have had to make changes to it.
"This includes the immunity scheme, which would have enabled terrorists who committed the most appalling crimes to get away with them.
“In respect of any potential compensation claims relating to historic Interim Custody Orders, we are examining all conceivable options to address this issue lawfully.”
But one of the men behind the Policy Exchange report, former UUP councillor Jeff Dudgeon (a fellow of the organistion) has said that if the government does not accept their figures, then it should produce its own estimates.
Mr Dudgeon said: “Our costs are actually somewhat conservative. We did our best given that many of the costs are not out there or not distinguishable. They’re – deliberately, possibly – mixed up with many other things.
"If the NIO is challenging our costs, then let them tell us what the costs are really, and explain.
"We’ve certainly known the £250m figure for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. That’s a very clear figure.
"But for every other figure you have to hunt through parliamentary answers, annual accounts, and obviously many of the public bodies like the PPS and Police Ombudsman don’t distinguish between legacy costs and others – but there’s no question that those costs are pretty significant.”
For example, the Policy Exchange report estimates that the upcoming inquiry into the Pat Finucane murder could cost £55m (based on the average of the Billy Wright, Rosemary Nelson and Robert Hamill inquiries, and adjusted for inflation).
It estimates there are about another 30 legacy inquests in the pipeline, costing perhaps £1m each.
And it estimates that compensation claims for wrongful internment, of which there are thought to be between 300 and 400, could run to £196m.
However these estimates depend on how the government handles each issue.
For example, it has made clear it is seeking to avoid compensation payouts over internment if it can.