Victims’ pension revision concerns raised

The pension scheme had been due to open on May 29 after legislation was passed by Westminster.

The UK government has accused Sinn Fein of holding it back but the republican party has rejected the charge.

While Sinn Féin has refused to nominate a Stormont department to run the scheme, it blamed the UK government for the delay.

Sinn Féin say the guidelines setting out how a panel will decide who is entitled to the pension payment discriminate against ex prisoners.

Mr Allister said: “The plan by the Secretary of State to publish revised guidelines on a pension for victims is concerning. Sinn Fein has made it abundantly clear that their issue with the scheme was the exclusion of victim makers from the scope of the pension.”

Meanwhile, a man whose wife and father-in-law were killed in the 1993 Shankill bombing has confirmed legal action is being taken over the delay. Alan McBride, whose wife Sharon and father-in-law Desmond Frizzell were killed in the blast, is a co-ordinator at the Wave Trauma Centre.

He told the News Letter yesterday : “Three weeks ago a pre-action letter was delivered to the Executive Office and, essentially, we were asking them to explain to us the delay and to come up with a workable plan going forward.”

He added: “Depending on their response to this pre-action letter, it’ll be going to judicial review.”

Jim Allister, in a statement, said that if Sinn Fein’s “demands” are “accommodated in the revised guidelines it will be yet another kick in the teeth for those who have suffered repeated insults and injustices as a result of the process.”

He added: “It would be a gross insult to those injured through no fault of their own to be lumped together with those who made a conscious decision to engage in criminal acts of terrorism.”

Mr McBride also criticised SF, saying: “It seems to me that Sinn Fein are trying to get into this old game around blaming the British government, blaming the NIO (Northern Ireland Office) and all the rest of it. They need to wise up and just get on with delivering the pension.”

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: “There should be no further delays in providing a pension for all victims of the conflict who were seriously injured. Victims have been waiting decades on this pension and that’s unacceptable. Sinn Fein wants to pension in place which meets the needs of all victims and provides recognition of the suffering and trauma they endured, as well as helping to restore dignity.

“The British government proposals on a victims’ pension are unfair and discriminatory and do not reflect the Stormont House Agreement. We want to see a pension that meets the needs of all victims and the full implementation of the agreement.”

Meanwhile, Innocent Victims United spokesman Kenny Donaldson said: “The principle that pensions should not be paid to those who were embroiled in terror and/or criminal voice must remain, there can and should not be dilution. This pension is an acknowledgement for those who have been seriously injured as a result of terrorism or criminal violence, who themselves were not perpetrators.”

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