Northern Ireland

'Inappropriate' to give Troubles victims payouts to those guilty of causing serious harm

Secretary of State Brandon Lewis unveiled the plan today. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
Secretary of State Brandon Lewis unveiled the plan today. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire Secretary of State Brandon Lewis unveiled the plan today. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

Anyone convicted of causing serious harm during the Troubles should not be eligible for victims' compensation payments, British government guidance states.

Those with a recent terrorism conviction of any sort will also be unable to access the money, according to the guidance.

The guiding principles to determine eligibility have been published amid an ongoing political standoff over the implementation of the long-delayed scheme to support those physically or psychologically injured during the Troubles.

Sinn Féin has refused to proceed with implementation, by designating a Stormont department to administer the scheme, because it believes the British government's approach could exclude thousands of injured people from the republican community who were involved in the conflict.

DUP leader Arlene Foster welcomed the British government guidance.

"This is another small step along the road to innocent victims receiving a pension which they rightly deserve," she said.

"It is right and proper that victim makers are not able to avail of this pension. It would be wholly wrong for bombers to be awarded a pension.

"The blockage remains that the deputy first minister has not agreed to designate the Department of Justice to process the pension.

"Whilst Sinn Féin ministers in the Executive agreed to allocate £2.5 million to enable preparatory work to be done by the Executive Office, they have not agreed to the DoJ being designated as the department to drive forward and make the payments.

"Four of the five Executive parties are agreed that DoJ is the appropriate department. It is time for Sinn Féin to make the needs of innocent victims, from all over the British Isles and of all political backgrounds, a priority and allow the pension to move forward."

The Commission for Victims and Survivors said it would be taking legal advice on the impact of guidance.

It said it would not be making further comment until that advice had been examined.

In a separate dispute, the British government and Stormont Executive is at odds on who should fund the scheme.

The scheme automatically bars anyone who was injured in an act they were responsible for.

However, there are convicted paramilitaries who were injured in other circumstances during the Troubles, such as those who were targeted by rival gunmen or state forces.

Under the scheme, any injured individuals with a serious conviction, i.e. those who were given a 30-month plus prison sentence, must have their cases assessed by an independent adjudication board to decide whether they are eligible for the payment.

The principles published by the British government will guide the board's deliberations.

The guidance make clears that it would be inappropriate to award compensation to anyone responsible for causing serious harm, such as anyone guilty of murder, attempted murder or GBH.

The British government has warned that, if the board sets aside this guidance and awards compensation to anyone who falls into that category, it reserves the right to intervene and veto it.

The guidance also outlines the mitigating factors that may lead the board to allocate the payments to someone with a serious conviction.

Those include whether the individual was a juvenile at the time of the offence, whether they had a mental incapacity, and whether they have demonstrated remorse and have not engaged in further criminal since the conviction.

The British government said the board, which will be chaired by a judicial figure, will assess each application on a case-by-case basis.

The payment scheme was legislated for at Westminster at a time when Stormont was still in cold storage due to the powersharing crisis.

The legislation handed the responsibility for running the scheme to the devolved executive.

The British government insists that Stormont should fund the payments, but ministers in Belfast insist the Treasury should contribute, highlighting the scheme will be open to victims who live in Britain.

The scheme, which should have opened to applications at the end of May, will pay out £2,000 to £10,000 a year depending on the severity of the injury.

Secretary of State Brandon Lewis published the guidance today.

It is not substantially different from a leaked version of draft guidance that was made public earlier in the summer.

"The moral and legal obligation to deliver this scheme for victims of the Troubles injured through no fault of their own is undeniable and I hope that the publication of today's guidance will renew the focus and efforts of the Northern Ireland Executive to move forward to finally deliver for these victims," he said.

"The political disagreements and delay of the last few years on this issue have gone on long enough.

"It is imperative that Sinn Féin now enable the scheme to move forward by agreeing with all the other parties and urgently designate a department to administer the scheme and get payments to those who will benefit most."