Trimble hits out over compensation plans

Published on 24/01/2009 18:46

FORMER Ulster Unionist leader Lord Trimble yesterday denounced as "offensive" a proposal to offer financial compensation to the family of every person killed during Northern Ireland's Troubles.

The plan for a 12,000 payment, believed to be a key proposal of an advisory group set up to deal with the legacy of violence in the province, has sparked controversy because it would be paid not only to families of victims of terrorism but also to relatives of dead IRA and loyalist militants.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Trimble said that he could understand the reasoning behind the proposal, as it was clear that the innocent wives and children of terrorists had suffered financially as a result of their family members' deaths while involved in paramilitary crimes.

But what he objected to was the idea that money could make up for the loss of a loved one.

The ambitious blueprint – expected to cost a total of 210m – includes plans for a "Legacy Commission" to bring closure to all the unsolved murders of the Troubles in a five-year period.