Justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA said, “The Northern Ireland Human Rights Chief Commission's remarks on the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval and Reconciliation (ICRIR) are highly political and unhelpful. The comments work on the premise that all former members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were corrupt, biased or unable to conduct an Article 2 compliant investigation. 

“The Commissioners' comments are inherently wrong. They undermine the commission's independence and therefore strike at the commissioners' credibility and ability to lead this important body. She has moved the commission into a space where the issues around the ICRIR have been reduced to a sectarian, anti-police, ‘us-and-them’ argument. This does nothing for victims and survivors and certainly doesn't help progress legacy.

“The Ulster Unionist Party has been clear. Any attempt to remove or deny former RUC officers from serving on the ICRIR would result in the withdrawal of all support for this legacy investigatory body.

“Any open and transparent recruitment process for the ICRIR cannot be fair or promote equality if former RUC or military personnel are excluded. The Commissioner is literally arguing against equality of opportunity.”