Opinion

British government should release funds for legacy inquests

James Brokenshire's refusal to release money for Troubles inquests is yet another blow to families who have been waiting an unacceptably long time for a court hearing into a loved one's death.

In his first interview with The Irish News, the secretary of state insisted that money for inquests would not be released until agreement is reached on all legacy issues.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan has appealed for funding of £10 million - which is not a huge amount of money in government terms - to progress dozens of inquests, some of which have been waiting decades to be heard.

Mr Brokenshire does not accept that the British government is responsible for withholding this funding saying it is up to the Stormont executive to make a request.

However, he also said that it was only when the Stormont House Agreement is implemented in full that the cash for inquests would be made available.

It is this obstructionist approach that is compounding the anguish of bereaved families.

Arlene Foster, in May last year, made it clear that she was not prepared to seek funding for the legacy inquests because of what she saw as an imbalance between state killings and those carried out by paramilitary organisations.

The Stormont House Agreement aimed to establish a Historical Investigations Unit to examine Troubles killings but stated that legacy inquests ``will continue as a separate process to the HIU.''

Families of those killed in controversial circumstances are entitled to an inquest to establish how a relative died. They should not be denied this because of political stalement or attempts at point-scoring.

If it so wished, the British government could release funding to the Lord Chief Justice to allow legacy inquests to take place. It would be the right thing to do.

In all this there seems to be very little regard for the families who are waiting for answers and who have already suffered so much.

They deserve better.