Baroness O’Loan calls for new victims’ body

A former police ombudsman for Northern Ireland has said a new body with full investigative powers is needed to replace the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR).

Baroness O’Loan told BBC News NI that the ICRIR had not “gained the confidence of victims” and “doesn’t have the powers it needs”.

It comes as the UK government repeated a pledge to repeal the Legacy Act in the King’s Speech on Wednesday.

Baroness O’Loan has called for an independent historical investigations unit similar to the type purposed in the Stormont House Agreement to replace the ICRIR.

She believes it could combine the historical investigations of the police ombudsman and the PSNI.

The former ombudsman added that if Labour “repeal the Legacy Act, they will have to produce another bill and that bill will be debated.”

“I do know there is generally grave dissatisfaction with the fact that control of information effectively lies in the hand of the secretary of state not ultimately of the ICRIR.

“So I think there will have to be a very significant change if the Labour government choose to call it the ICRIR that’s not the most important thing, the most important thing is that we can have inquests, that we can have civil actions, that there’s no immunity provision and that there are proper investigations,” she added.

On Wednesday, the Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he had no plans to scrap the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) but plans to reform how it works.

Mr Benn said “we need a process for information recovery and continuing investigation”.

“I’ve said I’ll be maintaining the independent commission.

“I will want to reform the way in which its governance works but the aim is to get a process for dealing with these difficult questions of legacy that can command more support, they may not get universal support, but more support than the legacy act which has no support in Northern Ireland.”

Mr Benn said the success of the independent commission will depend on how it does its work and that victims’ families dealing with the commission will be the judge.

The ICRIR is headed by Sir Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland.

From 1 May, and for a period of five years, it will accept requests for investigations into UK-wide incidents in which people were killed or seriously injured between 1 January 1966 and 10 April 1998.

These can be lodged by bereaved families or victims themselves.

Cases can also be referred to it by the Northern Ireland attorney general and the Northern Ireland secretary, among others.

In consultation with those who come forward, the ICRIR, which has police powers, will decide on the type of investigation to be carried out.

Baroness O’Loan said she had concerns not just with the investigations process of the ICRIR but also with some of the memorialisation.

“I think we will have to see what form it stays, what its arrangements are, how it’s tasked, what its jobs are,” she said.

“I think there are serious problems with not just the investigations process but some of the memorialisation so there is a whole lot to be re-debated.

“We need to keep it as simple as we can. There will have to be a historical investigation unit, not the ICRIR’s review unit.”