Troubles’ legacy - A forum for truth

The news that the family of Jean McConville, who was tortured and murdered by the IRA more than 40 years ago, is to sue the PSNI and the British government, reminds us all that there is a lot of unfinished business left over since the Troubles’ turbulent decades.

That a family would open an action over a traumatic event carried out more that four decades ago underlines the depth of the feelings at play. Recent displays of sectarianism also point to unfinished business.

The idea of a truth commission, a forum to publicly release and purge terrible truths, has often been suggested. The passage of time seems to strengthen rather than diminish the argument for such a process.