More than £30 million for Northern Irish murder review
The Government is to spend more than £30 million in a bid to bring closure to the 1,800 murder cases left open during the last 30 years of political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
At a joint press conference with police chief Hugh Orde yesterday, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said the Government was committed “to doing all it can” to help the province deal with its troubled past.
The new special “review unit” – to be headed by a former Metropolitan Police chief, David Cox – will have six years to revisit unresolved murder cases between 1969 and April 1998, the month when the Good Friday Agreement was penned, Mr Orde said.
According to official figures, there were 3,359 murders over the period. Over 200 murders of police officers remain unsolved.
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, welcomed the announcement.
Federation chairman Irwin Montgomery said: “From the beginning the Federation included in its campaign the issue of unsolved civilian murders and argued that Cold Case Review of all 1,800 murders was a better prospect for closure than any truth and reconciliation commission.”
Mr Orde said the initiative offered “a real chance to deliver closure” to families who suffered over the period.
With new DNA technology available, the Government hopes to wrap up many of the murder cases.
He said: “Cases 30 years old will be hard to solve, but I am absolutely convinced that we can bring a lot more closure to a lot more families simply by engaging and talking to them about what we did do.”
But Mr Murphy added the caveat that legal justice may not ensue for families of the victims.
“This is sensitive, painstaking and complex work, and in many cases is unlikely to lead to any prosecutions,” he said.
