The incoming commissioner for investigations at the UK government’s contentious Troubles legacy body has said it will be “adjusted” to ensure it is compliant with any court rulings.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) announced on Thursday that the former senior police officer Peter Sheridan had been appointed to head its investigations.
A former RUC and PSNI officer, as Assistant Chief Constable Mr Sheridan was the PSNI’s most senior Catholic officer.
For the last 15 years he has been CEO of the peacebuilding organisation Co-operation Ireland, where he facilitated the meeting which led to the handshake between Queen Elizabeth and Martin McGuinness in Belfast in 2012.
Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, Mr Sheridan said he “fully expected” the body would face legal challenges and said that “as courts make decisions and make judgments and differences, then, we will have to adjust the commission’s work to ensure we’re compliant with those.
“I am absolutely clear this won’t work unless it’s compliant with the [European] Convention [on Human Rights],” he said.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill finished its passage through the UK Parliament earlier this week and is expected to receive Royal Assent shortly.
It will replace current methods of criminal and civil investigations and inquests with inquiries carried out by the ICRIR, which has the power to offer conditional amnesties for perpetrators.
It is opposed by the North’s five main political parties, victims and human rights groups, the Irish Government, other parties in Ireland and in Britain, and internationally, but supported by veterans’ groups.
The Bill is expected to face significant legal challenge in the domestic courts in Northern Ireland and in Europe.
The Irish Government is awaiting legal advice from the Attorney General on the possibility of taking a case against Britain in the ECHR over its concerns it is in breach of international human rights law.
On Thursday the appointment of Mr Sheridan was criticised by the Pat Finucane Centre and Relatives for Justice, which supports victims and survivors of the Troubles.
The Pat Finucane Centre said it “strongly objected” to his appointment and to have a former RUC officer “oversee the investigation of historic cases of state violence and collusion simply beggars belief.
“If the appointment of this particular candidate is intended as a nod to the supposed ‘reconciliation’ element of this legacy legislation, it has signally failed,” it said.
Relatives for Justice said “independence is a key requirement for human rights compliant investigations” and “this appointment to an already discredited process is compromised from the start and cannot gain the confidence of victims of state violence”.
Mr Sheridan acknowledged he would “not be to everyone’s liking in this, but I stand on my own reputation, and the only way people will come to this will be if we make this work and it works and if victims and survivors feel they are getting the answers they deserve”.
He said he had thought “long and hard” and “did a lot of soul-searching” before deciding whether he would apply for this job.
“I could have taken the decision to walk the beaches, but I have always believed that it is the responsibility of this generation to deal with the current problems and not leave it to our children and grandchildren.”
He said his career in policing “was largely in Derry/Londonderry and was in uniform, I wasn’t involved in any of the legacy cases, but I can’t take away, I understand that for some people that will be an issue, and I fully recognise that”.
He said he hoped systems and procedures would be put in place to deal with conflicts of interest.
Asked what he would say to people opposed to the legislation who lost friends and family during the Troubles, Mr Sheridan said that since the Belfast Agreement “the people who have been dealt with the worst in this is victims and survivors.
“My role, my intention is to get as much information for victims and survivors as possible.
“They are my focus in this, nothing else. I didn’t join it [the ICRIR] for any other reason than to try and help victims and survivors and ... reconciliation in this place,” he said.
Mr Sheridan is expected to begin work in December, once prior commitments are completed.
The ICRIR said he will support the Chief-Commissioner-designate, Declan Morgan, “engaging with interested groups to ensure input from as wide a range of views as possible, as the Commission establishes its policies and procedures ahead of opening for requests [for information] from next summer”.
