Archives For Victims

TUV leader Jim Allister has written to the Prime Minister in the following terms:

Dear Prime Minister,

The recent huge settlements for families of those killed on “Bloody Sunday’ has stirred understandable questions among families of policemen and others murdered by terrorists at or about the same time.

Among those in touch with me is a police widow whose husband was murdered in 1975, leaving her with a 6 year old and a 4 year old and another child on the way. She got £1000 in criminal injury compensation plus a police pension – which she lost on remarriage (till I secured a change in the law a few years ago restoring such pensions).

When her treatment is compared with an award of £625,000 this week to a Bloody Sunday widow, then, the disparity is as obvious as it is shocking. 

It is appalling how many victims and widows of terrorism were treated. Recent events must refocus attention on how the state compensated police and UDR widows in comparison with how the same state is now compensating Bloody Sunday relatives. There is a deficit to be made up to those who lost their lives serving the state.

So, what proposals have you to address this issue?

Yours sincerely,

Jim Allister

Latest Stormont Crisis Vindicates TUV

Admin —  September 3, 2015

Speaking at a TUV meeting in East Belfast last night Jim Allister said:

“Some have tried to tell the Unionist electorate that Sinn Fein are committed to democracy and the rule of law. Yet there are a number of undeniable facts arising from the murder of Mr McGuigan.

“Firstly, the IRA as the Chief Constable has made clear continues to exist. Therefore the IRA’s supposed disbandment was a con.

“Secondly, the IRA have guns. Therefore the IRA’s supposed decommissioning was a con.

“Thirdly, the IRA reserve the right to shoot people. Therefore the IRA’s supposed commitment to the rule of law was a con.

“The entire peace process has been exposed for what it is – the appeasement of armed Republicanism in case they go back to “the bad old days”.

“Let’s not beat about the bush here. It is only because of violence and the threat of violence that Northern Ireland has a rigged form of devolution completely alien to the rest of the United Kingdom and indeed the democratic world.

“I commend the UUP for abandoning the sham which is current failed executive. It has been most entertaining to watch the DUP flounder in their attempts to justify remaining in government with the IRA’s political wing.

“We were told that they were going to bring forward an exclusion motion yet when the business committee met yesterday no such motion was tabled. Instead Peter Weir wanted MLAs to have an extra month’s holiday!

“The DUP have called for talks. More platitudes.

“Words, as the murder showed, are meaningless in Northern Ireland politics – unless of course they are on an OTR letter.

“Do you ever think we could reach a point where we should just look past the Jesuitry and actually deal with the terrorists?

“And as welcome as the UUP move is I am given to wondering why that party suddenly developed a conscience about IRA murders.

“Why did they remain round the executive table when the IRA brutally beat Paul Quinn to death in South Armagh?

“Why did they stay when the then Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy told Newsnight that he had “spoken to the IRA in the area” about the issue?

“Everyone knows that the IRA never went away and every Unionist is aware of exactly who they were sharing power with.

“The events of the last few weeks have totally vindicated the stand which TUV have taken. They have shown that we were right to keep using the title Sinn Fein/IRA long after other Unionists stopped doing so.

“It is time for both the DUP and UUP to face the reality that the current form of devolution in Northern Ireland has failed. We need real democracy and a system which can deliver for all the people of our Province.”

Statement by TUV Leader, Jim Allister:-

“The Kingsmills Inquest is being frustrated by the failure of the Garda to cooperate. For months the Coroner has been asking them for files and for months they have failed to respond. The matter has been commented on several times in the Coroner’s Court, most recently on Friday 3rd October 2014.

“Following a previous exposure of the Garda’s feet-dragging by the Chief Coroner, I raised the matter directly with David Ford on the floor of the Assembly on 16th September 2014, when he was enthusing about the quality of North-South cooperation. His response was pitiful, suggesting it was not for him to intervene.

“Now, at the latest hearing the Chief Coroner is reported (News Letter 4/10/14) to have urged that the matter be addressed at an inter-governmental level. Will minister Ford still try to dodge the issue? To find out I sought to table this Urgent Oral Question to the Justice Minister on today in the Assembly. Sadly, it was declined by the Speaker.  I will now table it as a Priority Written Question:-

‘To ask DOJ in view of the call by the Chief Coroner on 3rd October 2014 at a preliminary hearing into the Kingsmills Massacre for inter-governmental engagement  to address the need for timely and effective cooperation by the Garda, what steps has the minister taken, or will take, with his Republic of Ireland counterpart.’

Below is my exchange with the Justice Minister on 16/9/14:-

Mr Allister: The Minister has been very effusive in praising North/South cooperation and, indeed, has highly commended the Garda, yet, yesterday, the chief coroner in Northern Ireland had occasion to be highly critical of the total lack of cooperation from the Garda in the preparation for the pending Kingsmills massacre inquest.  What actions has the Minister taken to raise that issue with his counterparts?  That is a disgraceful situation.  If he has not done anything, why has he not done anything and will he now seek to engage on that important issue?  The coroner says that he wrote to the guards in February and April looking for cooperation and has had no response.  Is the Minister prepared to sit back and allow that to continue or will he get active on that issue?

Mr Ford: There are a number of points in Mr Allister’s comments.  First of all, I do not operationally direct the PSNI, and I need to be very careful about suggesting that I might operationally direct an Garda Síochána in those circumstances — [Interruption.]

Mr Principal Deputy Speaker: Order.

Mr Ford: Let us be absolutely clear, it is a major difficulty to resource the issues of the past, whether it be the work of the police in the Historical Enquiries Team and other matters, whether it be the work of the Office of the Police Ombudsman on its historical issues, or whether it be the work of the Coroners’ Courts in this jurisdiction.  We have significant financial problems in dealing with that with a budget that is only for today and which is being cut at this stage whilst some of those issues are enormously expensive.  So, we need to be realistic about the expectation as to what a Minister in this jurisdiction could do to enforce anything on a police service in a different jurisdiction.

Mr Allister: Do nothing.

Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:-

“There is a growing funding crisis in the innocent victims’ sector. The phasing out of PEACE III funding, with no gap provision made by Stormont, has coincided with severe cuts by OFMDFM in such funding as their Victim & Survivors Service provides. Even payments under the individual needs programme have been unilaterally ended. Victims who may had had a range of help, be it physiotherapy treatments or respite care, now find this funding has been terminated.

“I have, accordingly, written directly to the First Minister on the crisis which his department has created.

“It is, frankly, shameful that at a time when we’ve seen Stormont department’s spend on hospitality rise by 22% in two years, vital spending on innocent victims is being savagely cut.”

Note to Editors:-

Mr Allister’s letter to the First Minister is in the following terms:-

Dear First Minister,

I write to express my dismay at how some innocent victims have been left without support in consequence of the ending of funding.

Individuals who have chosen not to access support through organised victims groups are being particularly badly hit. Having applied under the individual needs programme, they are now being told they are no longer deemed eligible unless they are a carer or in receipt of DLA. Some isolated individuals took a lot of encouragement to even look for help through the individual needs programme, only now to have the rug pulled from under them.

Quite apart from the impact of cuts in the individual needs programme, the sector generally is seeing its funding stream traumatically impoverished, particularly as Peace III ends. With no gap funding and a cut in other support funding, many worthy organisations in the sector are in crisis.

The unilateral cutbacks on funding are impacting severely across the victims’ sector and need urgent reassessment.

Yours sincerely, 

Jim Allister MLA

Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:

“The comments by Lady Justice Hallett today should remove all shadow of doubt that the DUP are seeking to sell the Unionist electorate a pup on this issue.

“Mr Robinson demanded “a full judicial inquiry” and that he wanted “to know who the 187 people are that received these letters – if indeed it is only 187 people because I wouldn’t believe anything I hear any longer.” Continue Reading…

Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:

“Following the PSNI’s participation in the anti-British St Patrick’s Day parade in New York I wrote to the Chief Constable asking why a police service from the UK officially participated in a parade behind a banner which proclaimed “England Get Out of Ireland”.

“I know from contacts to my office that many people found the PSNI participation in an event which peddled this racist and xenophobic message deeply offensive. This is hardly surprising given that the “Brits Out” mantra was championed by the IRA which murdered so many gallant officers in Northern Ireland. Continue Reading…

Arrest Downey now – Allister

Admin —  March 26, 2014

Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-

“Tonight’s BBC Spotlight programme underscores the extent to which the criminal justice system has been corrupted by the immoral demands of “the peace process”.

“The failure to pursue Downey, despite his fingerprint link to the Johnston & Eames murders, is not just a failure of policing, but a blatant perversion of justice by the dirty politics of the process. It is no coincidence that Downey was gifted his letter just two days after the DUP and Sinn Fein joined in government: such payoff to the IRA was part of the consummation of the deal. The Johnston and Eames families and their quest for justice, like other innocent victims, were callously cast to the side. Establishing Sinn Fein/DUP rule was the overriding priority. Continue Reading…

Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:-
“The welcome charging of Ivor Bell, on the basis of evidence obtained from ‘the Boston tapes’, raises the obvious question of when others likewise named will be arrested and charged on the same basis? Continue Reading…

A delegation from Traditional Unionist Voice (party leader Jim Allister, party vice-chair Richard Cairns and press officer Samuel Morrison) today met the Secretary of State.

Commenting after the meeting TUV leader Jim Allister said: Continue Reading…

Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-

“Richard Haass’ outburst in Washington was wholly irresponsible, being excusatory of future terrorism.

“Excusing terrorism, alas, is nothing new for Dr Haass. His New Year report was so sanitising of terrorism that it didn’t even use the term “terrorism” at any point to describe the murderous terror of the IRA and others. Continue Reading…