Inquiry Launched Into OTR Letters

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he has appointed an independent judge to review letters sent to "on-the-run" IRA suspects.

The announcement comes just hours after Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson issued the UK Government with an ultimatum. He said they had just 24 hours to deal with the fallout regarding the handling of the issue which came to light earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Mr Robinson threatened to resign from his post after it was revealed he had been "kept in the dark" regarding letters sent to republican paramilitary suspects.

Then, today, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met for "crisis talks".

Ms Villiers is under increasing pressure to address concerns on the letters, while the NI Assembly has been recalled to meet on Friday to discuss the "on-the-run" cases.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, Mr Cameron said: "The case has already been referred to the Police Ombudsman, and as the first minister has said we should have a full independent examination of the whole operation of this scheme.

"We will appoint an independent judge to produce a full public account of the operation of this administrative scheme to determine whether any other letters were sent in error.

"The judge will have full access to government files and to government officials."

Mr Cameron added that "it is important to set out the facts of what has happened".

Last Friday, a judge ruled that the case against 62-year-old John Downey could not go ahead. Mr Downey, from Co Donegal, had been accused of carrying out the 1982 Hyde Park bombing which killed four soldiers. He was arrested at Gatwick Airport last year but denied the charges against him. The case collapsed because he had wrongly been told in a letter in 2007 that he was no longer a wanted man, despite the fact that police in Northern Ireland knew he was still being sought by Scotland Yard.

(JP/MH)