Tories condemn "repugnant" proposal to pay £12,000 to families of dead IRA terrorists

Northern Ireland's 'Consultative Group on the Past', co-chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley,  is to ask Gordon Brown to authorise £12,000 payments to the families of those who lost their lives in 'The Troubles' - including the families of IRA terrorists.  The overall cost of the plan would be about £40m.

Owen Paterson, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, issued this statement last night:

“I look forward to reading the full report next week but I could not support this particular proposal to reward all victims indiscriminately if it is included. Those people who carried out vicious acts of violence against innocent civilians and members of the legally established security forces cannot be put on the same level as their victims - any attempt to do so would be repugnant.”

The leaked recommendations were welcomed by Sinn Fein but the DUP First Minister Peter Robinson attacked them as "disappointing and disturbing".

Tim Montgomerie

> Lord Trimble discussed the plans on this morning's Today programme.

Comments

[Steve Foley]

This is utterly obscene! That the relatives of a dead terrorist of either side should be given any compensation at all is too bad and that it should be the same as for the family of an innocent victim is disgusting.

Far better that this idea had never seen the light of day! Just think, the families of the two kiddies killed at Warrington would get £12,000 as would those of the three murdering scum the SAS took out at Gibraltar. You couldn't make it up!

[AJJM]

We need a sense of finality, and finally move on - for the good of NI. But this isn't the way to do that!

[Cleethorpes Rock]

By not giving payouts to the families of terrorists, more could be given to the families of the victims.

This is something that will repulse Unionists and Nationalists alike and I'm sure will be something the Conservative and Unionist Party in Northern Ireland can get a cross-community consensus on. By having the chance to vote for a national party who can change this, it shows the benefits of the CUP to the people of Northern Ireland as opposed to sending their own sectarian delegates to Westminster.

[David_at_Home]

Well said Owen Paterson!

[CDM]

Almost as repugnant as letting terrorists into government in the first place.

[Umbrella man]

What a pity that Owen Paterson did not get a bigger job in Cameron's reshuffle. He showed what he could do with the NI job. He would have been very good at welfare.

[AJJM]

Cleethorpes, Sinn Fein have strongly welcomed the report, and Mark Durkan of the SDLP has basically endorsed it.

[Cleethorpes Rock]

Sinn Fein WOULD welcome the report, as 90% of them are terrorists anyway.

It's a slippery slope towards creating moral parity between terrorists and victims- placing the balaclava-wearing thugs as legitimate combatants.

How long before the Shinners are asking for the same compensation to be applied to those killed by the police or the Army?

[Neil Reddin]

"Consultative Group on the Past" - are they for real? Sounds a bit Mickey Mouse.

Apparently it's a "group set up to advise on how to deal with the past".

Surely you deal with the past by learning the lessons and moving on.

But, then, I live in the opposite corner of the UK, so what do I know?

[Jeffrey Peel]

The article is incorrect in that the proposed payments are not just for families of IRA terrorists but for families of ALL terrorists - including Loyalist thugs and IRA/INLA activists who blew themselves up planting bombs. The body that has made this recommendation is part of the problem not part of the solution. With recommendations like this I hope that the Conservatives will abolish this body - established, we must remeber, by Peter Hain. Well said Owen.

[DJT]

I feel physically sick! Im from the north west and the 2 dead boys from warrington and the manchester victims will be turning in their grave!

I can only hope we can stop this insane idea!

[michael mcgough]

I suppose this paves the way for our Merchant Banker led government rewarding Al Queda,Taliban,Hamas and every other terrorist scum.The sums are consistent with those rewards offered to returning alien criminals and failed asylum seekers.

This is perverse.

[Steve Tierney]

Unbelievable. Lets work hard, pay our taxes and watch while our government proposes redistributing them to terrorists. Makes you proud, doesn't it?

[The Bishop swine]

This is an Obscene suggestion. It sends all of the wrong messages. Those who make war against our nation should not get a big taxpayer hand out. Some of the people who would benefit are criminal scum, who helped murder innocent women and children. I suspect that this stupid idea will get dropped. I hope we are clear that no Tory government would have any part of this lunatic idea. If anyone should be getting a hand out it’s the families of our soldiers and policemen, killed whilst performing their duty, not the scum that killed them.

[michael mcgough]

"It's a slippery slope towards creating moral parity between terrorists and victims- placing the balaclava-wearing thugs as legitimate combatants."

I suppose with the ex IRA N.I.Ministers Adams and McGuinness ,Nelson Mandela, certain Israelis and many others the terrorist ends up with more than parity.

[David_at_Home]

The concept is, of course, revolting but what does it tell us about the mindsets of the people who recommended it. You can find out about the members of the “Consultative Group” here.

http://www.nio.gov.uk/hain-announces-group-to-look-at-the-past/media-detail.htm?newsID=14484

I used to believe that Lord Eames, the former Archbishop of Armagh was, at least for an Anglican churchman, a sound sort of chap and Willie John McBride could hardly be accused of being a “softie”.

[Onemarcus]

As a youngster growing up in London I was constantly near places that had been bombed by the IRA, Regents Park, Hyde Park, Staples Corner, Oxford Street etc etc. These people declared war on the people of this country and we are now preparing to pay compensation to their families why did all those troops and policemen give up their lives and health (don't forget all those permantley maimed by the IRA) trying to preserve the peace for all citizens of this country. We must be going mad if this goes through, well we are mad we have spent and continued to spend hundred of millions yes hundreds of millions on the Bloody Sunday inquiry/farce.

[Patsy Sergeant]

This government is perverse! Remember that this country has the craziest sentencing laws in Europe, if not the world, courtesy of this government. So this latest idiocy, from one of the government's own 'Consultative groups' like 'agencies, quangoes, etc:, just there to waste money, that actually is there at the moment, at least not for irrelevences like this!

[The Bishop swine]

This is exactly the sort of crazy proposal that will appeal to the Great Britain Haters among the Labour party, and lets be honest there are loads of them. Whilst everyone has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of conscious.That doesn't mean they have the right to take up arms against the state. To reward the families of criminals by paying some sort of blood money as a form of appeasement is simple wrong. I remember the day that the IRA bombed our party conference, a typical cowardly act dressed up as politics. No, I do not favour giving one penny to the families of IRA or even Unionist terrorists. The IRA were our enemy whilst the Unionist paramilitaries were for the most part mafia style gangsters. This has been an obscene suggestion and those responsible should be forced to resign.