THE British government is "preventing any scrutiny of their actions" by seeking to block future prosecutions and inquests of Troubles cases, a US Congress Commission has heard.
The hearing in Washington DC was hosted yesterday by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and speakers included Geraldine Finucane, the wife of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, and Alan McBride, whose wife Sharon was killed in the IRA Shankill bombing in 1993.
The 'Northern Ireland: Accountability at Risk' hearing was chaired by Congressman Christopher H. Smith, who criticised the amnesty plan announced last summer by the UK government that would bring an end to all Troubles-era prosecutions.
British prime minister Boris Johnson has said the move would "draw a line under the Troubles", but it has been opposed by all of the north's main political parties.
"The UK is contemplating a unilateral action to declare immunity by passing...a statute of limitations for Troubles-era killings before there has been full accountability, against the express wishes of nearly every major actor in Northern Ireland, be they Catholic or Protestant," Congressman Smith claimed.
He called the plans "profoundly unjust" adding that they took peace in the north "for granted".
Also speaking was Mark Thompson of the Relatives for Justice group, who said: "The UK government have mounted a rearguard action to prevent any scrutiny of their actions."
He also compared their plans to the actions of a "rogue state".
Meanwhile, Geraldine Finucane spoke to attendees about the day her husband was murdered, describing it as "the day our lives changed forever".
She said the British government "simply wants to sweep its actions and responsibility under the carpet forever, with no risk of any exposure".
Alan McBride told the hearing: "Wherever families were hurt, no matter if they were republican families, or loyalist...or whether they were families belonging to the security forces, everybody needs their time in court, everybody needs some sense of justice."
Among the guest delegation was former chief constable of Bedfordshire Police Jon Boutcher, who heads Operation Kenova, the probe into over 200 Troubles murders and the activities of the British agent within the IRA known as Stakeknife.
"Families want to be listened to, acknowledged, and told the truth of what happened," he told the commission.
"They want to know that their loss mattered, that what happened was wrong. It's a failing of all of us in authority that so many families believe that the authorities that were there to protect them and investigate these matters do not care about what happened."
Co-chairing the commission was Congressman Jim McGovern, who said dealing with the past was "morally necessary" and "simply the right thing to do".
He added: "It's time to redouble efforts to reveal the full truth about what happened, hold those responsible accountable, in order to preserve hard-won peace."
