Below is Jim Allister’s speech during today’s Assembly debate:
“The affirmation that justice in a democracy must be done and must be seen to be done is not only a catchphrase but a fundamental principle that underlies the operation of a judicial system. The sordid arrangement that the Government perfected with the spokesmen and representatives of murderers, terrorists and some of the vilest criminals goes to the very heart of undermining our judicial and justice system. It subverts not only the political process but the judicial process, and those who perfected it were the British Government and the IRA through its surrogates, Sinn Féin. Of course, it is made worse by the fact that it was kept secret. It was something that was done in secret, behind closed doors and to be kept secret, and it has done great despite not only to the justice system but to the citizens who rely on that justice system, particularly the innocent victims who plaintively believed that, one day, they might get justice while not knowing that some of the victim makers were walking around free of that threat and obligation. Continue Reading…