A senior party delegation will this evening meet with Lady Justice Hallett and her review team on the issue of “On the Runs,” Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, has confirmed.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
The Sinn Fein MLA will be among a senior delegation from the party that will include Gerry Adams and Gerry Kelly.
Mr McGuinness said they would use the opportunity to “unequivocally” set out Sinn Féin’s record on the issue of ‘On the Runs’ and its wider context.
He added: “The British and Irish governments recognised as far back as the Weston Park Agreement of 2001 in a joint communiqué from British Secretary of State John Reid and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen that the issue of ‘On the Runs’ had to be addressed.
“At Weston Park the two governments committed to the development of a scheme which would resolve the issue of ‘On the Runs’. British Attorney General Dominic Grieve confirmed in February this year that the scheme, which operated from 2001, was a lawful process.
“Despite claims to the contrary, neither this process, nor the agreements on which it was based, were secret or hidden.
“It has been our consistent view that the ‘On the Runs’ are only one part of a number of issues linked to dealing with the legacy of the past.
“We have made concrete proposals to deal with all of these issues and we have signed up to the comprehensive compromise package produced by Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan to move this process forward.”
Mr McGuinness concluded: “It remains our view that others including the British government and the unionist parties need to do so.”
