The John Downey court case raises “profound questions” about dealing with the past and “specific questions” about letters issued to IRA ‘On the Runs’, according to NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Mark Brotherston.
“The collapse of John Downey’s trial and the issue of letters to ‘on the run’ IRA suspects need to be examined very closely”, Mark emphasised. “Apparently Mr Downey received a letter from the PSNI, via the NIO, which stated that he was not wanted for questioning or charge in Northern Ireland and that they knew of no interest in him by any other police force. As it happened that information turned out to be wrong, because the Metropolitan Police in London had issued a warrant for his arrest.”
“This raises a number of specific questions. The judge decided that Mr Downey could not be prosecuted because of this letter. Why did it have such an extraordinary impact, given the gravity of the charges? Courts do not usually allow serious criminal cases to be derailed by technicalities. Surely the decision should have at least been tested in higher appeal courts? Secondly, if the prosecution was derailed primarily because a Met Police warrant was overlooked, why would future trials be affected, if the information in other letters to ‘on the runs’ was accurate at the time they were issued? Surely the possibility of new evidence or advances in technology was envisaged? It’s clear that the number of these letters, their exact content and legal force, needs to be thoroughly investigated as soon as possible.”
“The case also raises wider questions about Troubles related offences. Sinn Féin signed up to proposals for dealing with the past during the Haass process. Is that party genuinely prepared to accept the consequences of examining the past, or does it really believe that republicans including members of its leadership, uniquely among protagonists, cannot be prosecuted or investigated, irrespective of the evidence against them? We certainly suspect Sinn Féin’s attitude, but it has not set out clearly its policies in this regard.”
“The point is that people in Northern Ireland deserve clarity about the assumptions and understandings that keep the power-sharing institutions here going. They also deserve an honest debate about what it is possible to deliver when it comes to dealing with the past. There is, at best, a great deal of ambiguity around what parties like the DUP knew about the issue of On The Runs, as demonstrated by passages in Jonathan Powell’s book Great Hatred, Little Room. A thorough investigation can at least cast light on how these letters will impact the search for justice into the future. If the Downey case was a tragic exception, people need to know. If it has wider consequences which could prevent more prosecutions, people need to know that too.”