Governments 'setting aside views of terrorists' victims'

The British Government is setting aside the views of the victims of terrorist violence in Northern Ireland by considering ways of enabling ‘‘on-the-run’’ paramilitaries to return without facing the law, it was claimed today.

During a debate at the Alliance conference on a proposed ‘‘amnesty’’ for paramilitaries who want to return to Northern Ireland without being tried for crimes, deputy leader Eileen Bell argued any deal would not be ‘‘a logical extension’’ of the Good Friday Agreement.