THE BRITISH government last night reiterated its view that Stormont should carry the cost of the victims' pension payments.
Responding to the Court of Appeal ruling that said the Executive Office had a responsibility to fund victims' payments, a spokesman for the Secretary of State Brandon Lewis said the British government had provided Stormont with "unprecedented levels of funding" this year and that a further £900m would be available at the end of March.
But Sinn Féin said London should meet the cost of the scheme, estimated to be in the region of £800m.
The court said that if the four-week deadline it has imposed was not met, the case would be relisted with the Department of Finance, which is headed by Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy, included as an additional notice party.
Mid-Ulster MLA Linda Dillon said the executive did not have the resources to finance the scheme.
"Our collective efforts now must be to ensure that the British government who brought forward this legislation should provide the required finances and financial certainty in order for the scheme to open as planned," she said.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said Sinn Féin ministers had "blocked and delayed" the scheme.
"Whilst the payments will be made from the Northern Ireland Executive, there is a strong argument that the government should be increasing the Northern Ireland budget accordingly to fund the pension," the first minister said.
Colin McGrath, the SDLP chair of Stormont's Executive Office committee, welcomed the court's four-week deadline.
"While the British government clearly must meet their financial commitments to this scheme, the public row between the secretary of state and finance minister is unedifying and also serves to retraumatise victims and survivors," he said.
Executive Office committee vice-chair, Doug Beattie said there was sympathy for Stormont's case but that "shameful foot dragging" meant it was running out.
"The Executive Office has not only a moral obligation, but now a legal one to provide the funding to this scheme and end the uncertainty for those who have spent years suffering as a result of injuries caused by no fault of their own," he said.
