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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| State 'let innocent people die' | State 'let innocent people die' |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| The state must admit to illegal activity which led to the deaths of innocent people, the consultative group on the past has said. | The state must admit to illegal activity which led to the deaths of innocent people, the consultative group on the past has said. |
| Lord Eames said the security forces had on occasion acted outside the law. | Lord Eames said the security forces had on occasion acted outside the law. |
| He and co-chair Denis Bradley have outlined key areas that need to be addressed if NI is to move forward. | He and co-chair Denis Bradley have outlined key areas that need to be addressed if NI is to move forward. |
| Lord Eames said that "through handling of intelligence it could even be said innocent people were allowed to die". | Lord Eames said that "through handling of intelligence it could even be said innocent people were allowed to die". |
| Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley will deliver a formal report in the summer to the secretary of state, including a number of recommendations. | Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley will deliver a formal report in the summer to the secretary of state, including a number of recommendations. |
| The group have held a series of public meetings around Northern Ireland to get different perspectives on how to deal with the past. | The group have held a series of public meetings around Northern Ireland to get different perspectives on how to deal with the past. |
| Would the republican community like to have to tell an ageing mother that her martyred son was actually an informer? Denis Bradley | Would the republican community like to have to tell an ageing mother that her martyred son was actually an informer? Denis Bradley |
| Lord Eames said what many had great difficulty in coming to terms with was that "the state not only sought to be an honest broker during the conflict but also played a combative role and, in this context, sometimes went beyond their own rules of engagement". | Lord Eames said what many had great difficulty in coming to terms with was that "the state not only sought to be an honest broker during the conflict but also played a combative role and, in this context, sometimes went beyond their own rules of engagement". |
| He added: "We cannot ignore that, in fact, the state sometimes acted illegally." | He added: "We cannot ignore that, in fact, the state sometimes acted illegally." |
| "If we are to move out of the past in a healthy way then the state itself needs to acknowledge its full and complex role in the last 40 years." | "If we are to move out of the past in a healthy way then the state itself needs to acknowledge its full and complex role in the last 40 years." |
| 'Reconciliation elusive' | 'Reconciliation elusive' |
| The group's final report would make suggestions on how that could be done, he said. | The group's final report would make suggestions on how that could be done, he said. |
| Mr Bradley said intelligence gathering and using informers was almost inevitable and had saved lives and stopped atrocities. | Mr Bradley said intelligence gathering and using informers was almost inevitable and had saved lives and stopped atrocities. |
| However, he added: "The scale of the use of informers throughout the conflict corroded the fabric of our communities and the constant pressure now exerted for information about informers to be revealed only serves to further undermine the well being of communities to a degree that could be poisonous. | However, he added: "The scale of the use of informers throughout the conflict corroded the fabric of our communities and the constant pressure now exerted for information about informers to be revealed only serves to further undermine the well being of communities to a degree that could be poisonous. |
| "Would the republican community like to have to tell an ageing mother that her martyred son was actually an informer? That is what full disclosure could mean." | "Would the republican community like to have to tell an ageing mother that her martyred son was actually an informer? That is what full disclosure could mean." |
| He said the group was committed to addressing the legacy of the past "in a way that will promote a greater goal of reconciliation within and between our people". | He said the group was committed to addressing the legacy of the past "in a way that will promote a greater goal of reconciliation within and between our people". |
| "We recognise that reconciliation remains an elusive and contested concept. | "We recognise that reconciliation remains an elusive and contested concept. |
| "For some of us this will mean being reconciled to the fact that our future is together, that we do share the land and its resources and a common sense of belonging to this place." | "For some of us this will mean being reconciled to the fact that our future is together, that we do share the land and its resources and a common sense of belonging to this place." |
| The group said victims may not be able to get justice in the courts because of the passage of time and lack of evidence. | |
| It called on republicans and loyalists to declare that the violence of the past would never happen again. | |
| Sinn Fein said it had boycotted the event because of what it described as the group's failure to invite republican victims' groups. | |
| However, a spokesman for the Consultative Group said it had not invited any victims'groups to the event for fear of missing someone out. |