The legacy of Northern Ireland’s past is not going to be dealt with by a series of public inquiries, Secretary of State Hilary Benn has said.
He came under questioning over the Government’s handling of legacy cases during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Monday.
Mr Benn insisted that a reformed Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) will be able to deal with the cases.
The body led by Sir Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice for Northern Ireland, was set up by the former government’s Legacy Act after scores of legacy inquests and other court cases relating to the Troubles were halted.
The Kingsmill massacre and the Guildford pub bombings are among cases it is currently looking at.
Mr Benn told MPs they are working to change disclosure arrangements and to make it compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“In the end, we’re not going to deal with legacy with a whole series of public inquiries,” he said.
“We’re doing all this work to try and create a body which is capable of delivering justice for all, information for all, answers for all.
“That is what I am trying to do at the moment because of the incompatibilities identified.”
He was asked about his decision not to call a public inquiry into the circumstances around the murder of GAA official Sean Brown in 1997.
In May the UK Government confirmed it will seek a Supreme Court appeal over a court ruling that ordered it to hold a public inquiry into Mr Brown’s murder.
The 61-year-old then-chairman of Wolfe Tones GAA Club in the Co Londonderry town of Bellaghy was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997.
No-one has ever been convicted of his killing.
Preliminary inquest proceedings last year heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents.
It was also alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning.
Asked about Mr Brown’s case, Mr Benn told MPs: “It’s an awful, awful case.
“The murder of Sean Brown was shocking, deeply violent, and this has caused immense suffering to the family, to his widow Bridie and to the wider community, including the GAA family, because of the role that he undertook.
“But I came to the conclusion that the commission reformed would be capable of looking into it, and there’s an issue of principle here in respect to the court ruling.
“Up until this moment, the courts accepted that it is for governments to decide whether public inquiries are ordered, not for the courts.
“What the courts have tended to say is, this is the test that has to be met, the way in which the government chooses to meet that test is a matter for governments to decide.
“There is a margin of appreciation that is made available.
“In this particular case, the court has decided to order a public inquiry.
“We’re seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court because of that fundamental principle, which is, courts do not order public inquiries, governments do, and that is very important because of the nature of the mandatory order I am not able to do anything else other than order a public inquiry, which I made it clear that the Government is not going to do, because I believe there’s another means of dealing with this case.”
Mr Benn said there are five other cases that are in the same position.
“People say the Sean Brown case is unique. All murders are unique and uniquely painful for the family, but it is not a unique case,” he said.
“This is not a unique case, and I would also say we are not going to deal with legacy by having a whole series of public inquiries.
“That is not a way forward. That is why we have to make the reform of the commission to win public confidence.
“To make it ECHR compliant is so important because then you have a mechanism that you can use to deal with all of them and all of us, the committee, the whole team, everybody needs to be concerned about justice for everyone.”
He added: “It is open to the Brown family to go to the commission today, the commission will start work on investigating.”
