Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The comments of Gerry Kelly on the decision to charge John Downey in connection with an IRA bomb in London in 1982 are disgusting but revealing of the Sinn Fein mind-set.
“The fact that Downey is “a member of Sinn Fein” should be totally irrelevant to a criminal investigation yet Kelly seems to believe that it should render him exempt from arrest.
“Doubtless Sinn Fein do find it “unhelpful” that they have been deprived of a loyal party member for at least a while but the involvement of someone in a political party should never mean that they cannot be investigated for crimes.
“How can any Unionist claim with credibility that Sinn Fein support the rule of law when they launch such an attack on the forces of law and order for investigating the murder of four soldiers?
“This statement, coming as it does hard on the heels of the Director of Public Prosecutions comments on considering drawing a line under the “past” should concern every supporter of justice in Northern Ireland. Where in the world would it be suggested that murders should not be investigated because of political concerns?”