The family of an IRA memeber shot dead by undercover British soldiers has written to Secretary of State Hilary Benn demanding that he drops the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
In an open letter to Mr Benn, the family of Provisional IRA member Denis Heaney called for ICRIR be replaced by a “system of truth and justice” that was free from interference.
While the new Labour government has pledged to repeal its controversial Legacy Act, Mr Benn has said it intends retaining the ICRIR.
Mr Heaney was shot dead by soldiers of the undercover 14th Intelligence Unit in Derry on June 10 1978. The soldiers responsible claimed he was armed and attempting to hijack a car. One soldier, identified as Soldier B, fired two shots wounding Mr Heaney in the leg while a second, Soldier A, shot him dead as he lay on the ground.
Mr Heaney’s family believe he was the victim of a sting operation and the “shoot to kill” policy in operation in the 1970s. The family said that just weeks before he was killed, their brother was arrested and was told by an RUC officer “We’ll stiff you the first chance we get”.
The inquest returned an open verdict and a subsequent civil action taken by the family was dismissed in favour of the Ministry of Defence.
In the months leading up to the introduction of the Legacy Act in May this year, the Heaney family had been seeking a new inquest and fresh civil action.
In their letter to Mr Benn, the family said: “How can we have any faith in a process that was designed from its inception to protect the interests of the state itself and ensure continued immunity from prosecution of its security and intelligence forces?”
In their opposition to the ICRIR, the Heaney family listed concerns about its ability to demonstrate its independence. They believe the British government should not be the sole arbitrator in the legacy cases and that international practitioners should be involved.
“We require a system of truth and justice that is free from interference by the very state responsible for some of the worst excesses of violence throughout the many years of conflict in Ireland,” the Heaney family said.
A spokesman for the ICRIR said the Commission recognised the Heaney family’s pain.
“Our thoughts are with them. We respect people’s choices about whether they come to the Commission and our door will continue to remain open to all. We will continue to work to give answers to the over 100 individuals who have come to us in their quest for truth,” the spokesman said.
A spokesman said the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) had enormous sympathy for those who suffered and continued to suffer because of the Troubles.
The NIO spokesman said: “We remain committed to repealing and replacing the Legacy Act and to implementing legacy mechanisms that are compliant with human rights and which can gain suppport from communities across Northern Ireland.”
It was clear that changes to the Act were necessary and the NIO has already committed to bringing forward a remedial order under the Human Rights' Act which would reform the ICRIR. The spokesman said the NIO remained committed to restoring civil actions and to allowing inquests which were previously halted to proceed.
