Troubles Legacy Bill will 'murder justice itself': Enniskillen bomb victim

​Alberta Quinton, 72, was one of 11 people killed when the IRA targeted a Remembrance Day service in the town in November 1987. A twelfth victim, Ronnie Hill, died from his injuries after 13 years in a coma.

Responding to a debate in the House of Lords on the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, Aileen Quinton said the package of measures places victims “at the bottom of the list”.

The bill is designed to bring an end to all Troubles legacy prosecutions, inquests and civil actions. One aspect of the controversial proposals is the establishment of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The commission will have a ‘truth recovery’ function, and the ability to conduct investigations. However, its critics – including almost all victims’ groups and all of the main political parties in Northern Ireland – say it will rob bereaved families of justice by providing an amnesty for perpetrators in return for information about terrorist killings.

Ms Quinton said: "At the time, the then Tory government promised us that no stone would be left unturned to bring those responsible to justice.

"Well, for a long time there has been no will from those who should be turning stones, and those ensuring that they carry on doing so, to make good this promise. And now, having avoided turning the stones, they are going to cement them down.

"I have no faith that this bill is about delivering justice for victims of terrorism. We are at the bottom of the list to be considered.

"This is about murdering justice itself, and many victims down the years have pleaded that people should not take the law into their own hands. This is based on the principle that it is in someone's hands - that it is in the State's hands. And if the State is now going to wash its hands on this matter, that creates a horrible, dangerous vacuum, and our arguments against it being filled by others has been dreadfully compromised."