SINCE its inception in May 2024, most victims’ groups and relatives of people who were killed during the conflict have refused to deal with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
Established by the former Conservative government as part of its controversial and discredited Legacy Act, its independence has been rightly called into question and it has struggled to convince enough people of its effectiveness at a time when families are more convinced than ever that the British government has no interest in truth receovery and are more concerned about protecting its soldiers who were responsible for hundreds of killings during the conflict. Meanwhile its security services worked hand in glove with loyalists targeting and murdering Catholics and republicans.
Thus, there was little surprise this week when a review into the operation of the ICRIR found that the body faces significant problems with leadership conflict, financial management and staff morale, amongst others failings. The independent review was commissioned by the British government which was itself concerned about the ICRIR’s corporate effectiveness.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn said he was deeply concerned with the scathing review and its findings, while former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan said there is “something fundamentally very wrong” with the ICRIR.
But as we report this week, the review also found that the ICRIR has yet to publish a single investigation into a Troubles-related killing since it was established two years ago. This in itself is extraordinary. With a fraction of the ICRIR’s budget – it has 300 staff and a £250million budget – victims’ group Relatives For Justice has produced nine family reports over the past two years and have another four pending.
Just this week Relatives For Justice published two comprehensive reports, one into the the UVF murder of Harry Muldoon in Ardoyne in October 1984, which also examines collusion between the UVF and RUC in his murder, and another into the March 1988 murder of Ormeau Road Catholic Charles McGrillen. Another murder that points to collusion.
Referring to the review into his organisation, ICRIR Chief Commissioner Declan Morgan said he was “deeply sorry that this has happened on my watch.”
That is just a standard response.
Under the Labour government’s own legacy plans the ICRIR is to be retained but its name is to be replaced. This is a typical British government response which we have witnessed It is something that families are used to, and it delays the day when the truth will finally come out.
We have seen with the Springhill Massacre decision this month that the truth can come out in the end. Just not when the British government is allowed to continue calling the shots.
