THE British and Northern Ireland governments have a "moral imperative" to begin compensation payments to victims and survivors of the Troubles immediately, the chair of a powerful Westminster committee said.
The Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme had been due to open on May 29 but is yet make a single payment because of a dispute between Belfast and London over who will pay the estimated £100 million cost.
Simon Hoare, who chairs the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said victims "should not be made to endure further delay" in a blunt letter to Secretary of State Brandon Lewis.
He has told Mr Lewis set up meetings between the two governments to "enable payments to be made at the soonest possible date" and appear before the committee to brief them on the outcome of the discussions.
First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill have said London should carry the cost, while Mr Lewis insists Stormont should foot the bill.
Last night former secretary of state Lord Hain laid the blame at the door of the Northern Ireland Executive Office for denying "modest financial payments to men and women who suffered the most horrendous physical and psychological injures through no fault of their own".
In a stinging attack in the House of Lords, he said it "has palpably failed, indeed refused, to comply with the law" telling peers of its "heartless treatment of some of the most vulnerable victims of Northern Ireland's violent past, and now part of its living tortured legacy.
Mr Hoare pointed out that the support has been "promised to them by the government and the Northern Ireland Executive" and described the impasse as "deeply regrettable".
"There is a moral imperative for making these payments now," he wrote.
"Victims and their families have waited too long for compensation, and many of them are elderly or in ill health. They have campaigned for many years to receive the recognition and redress due to them, and they believed that the matter had been settled.
"It is unacceptable that they should be made to endure further delay because of political and administrative disputes."
Mr Hoare reminded his party colleague that the House of Commons "recognised this moral duty to victims when it agreed (unopposed) the regulations establishing the scheme" and told him both governments have a "responsibility to victims" which must be fulfilled "without further delay".
"I urge you to convene meetings between HM Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to enable payments to be made at the soonest possible date, and to report the outcome of these meetings to the Committee," he wrote.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
Lord Hain said "an urgent adult conversation" is needed to resolve matters, and said Mr Lewis "as the sponsor of 2019 Act to have urgent discussions with the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland to resolve this shameful impasse".
On Tuesday night a British government spokesperson said: “The UK government made legislation establishing a victims payments scheme in January - fulfilling its legal obligation. The Northern Ireland Executive must now deliver. The government understands the deep frustration of those who were injured in the Troubles and their families and remains extremely disappointed by the current delay.
"The secretary of state and his officials have been in regular contact with the executive to support them in the progression of the scheme. Discussions about funding are not preventing the Executive from being able to take vital steps to unlock its implementation, which it must do urgently."
