The SDLP Leader of the Opposition today asked the Justice Minister to support the implementation of key recommendations in the Kenova report, including speeding up justice processes and a review of the Public Prosecution Service.

In a Topical question to Minister Long, Matthew O’Toole MLA asked the Minister to confirm she would use her office to take forward relevant recommendations from the interim Kenova report, including taking forward legislation to provide procedural time limits on case management – repeatedly cited as a barrier to dealing speedily with legacy cases.

Matthew O’Toole MLA said:

“The core recommendations of Kenova are for the UK Government and Republican movement to take forward – namely an apology to the victims of the appalling joint enterprise between the British state and the Provisional IRA that led to the abduction, torture and murder of citizens, many of them innocent of spurious allegations made against them.

“But there are specific recommendations that touch on the responsibilities of the Justice Minister, most particularly around speeding up judicial processes around legacy. I would encourage the Justice Minister to do all she can to push these recommendations through, and indeed to use her office to call for the other recommendations – such as a full review of the PPS – to be progressed.

“It is somewhat disappointing that she declined to use her first ministerial question time since the publication of the Kenova report to outline what actions her department can take, even if limited ones, to respond to the findings of this important and chilling report.”