On-the-run letters were ’possibly unlawful’, inquiry finds

A British government scheme that issued letters of comfort to on-the-run (OTR) Irish republicans distorted the legal process and may even have been unlawful, a Westminster inquiry has found.

An investigation by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee heavily criticised the operation of the administrative process that saw almost 190 individuals obtain a document assuring them they could return to the UK - inlcuding the North - without fear of arrest.