Ford: New legislation 'remains a perversion'

The British government’s Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill will remain a perverse piece of legislation if ministers fail to link it to the return of individuals exiled by paramilitaries, it was claimed today.

As speculation mounted that the British government is preparing to amend the controversial bill in a bid to avoid an embarrassing defeat in the House of Lords, the leader of the cross-community Alliance Party, David Ford, claimed the legislation would still be flawed if it did not enable people forced out of republican and loyalist neighbourhoods to return home safely.