Fresh concerns have been raised about an “information recovery” body set up by the British government after Secretary of State Hilary Benn said its caseload figures will not be made public.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was set up under the British government’s Legacy Act and has responsibility for investigating all Troubles-linked cases
Many victims, and relatives of those who died during the Troubles, are strongly opposed to the body, believing it to be part of British government attempts to protect state participants from accountability.
Up to now, the body has not provided figures for how many referrals or requests for investigations have been made by the NIO and others.
In a parliamentary question, Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood asked Mr Benn if he will “make it his policy to publish monthly figures on the number of reviews opened” by the ICRIR after requests from the NIO, families and others.
In response Mr Benn said the commission is “independent of government” adding that it “would not be appropriate for the government to publish information about its operational activities”.
Daniel Holder, from the Committee on the Administration of Justice, said “even the number of legacy investigations being conducted here now appears to be some sort of state secret”, adding that “the advent up of the ICRIR has marked a further roll back of transparency”.
A spokesman for the ICRIR said the body has “made it clear that we will provide an update on our work as part of our annual report and accounts in September” adding that it is “not going to get into a running commentary on the number of people that have approached us” out of respect for the privacy and confidentiality of those who have come forward.
