Tony Blair to be called to explain secret IRA deals

Tony Blair to be called to give evidence on IRA deals
Explanation: former PM Tony Blair
Michael McHugh13 July 2014
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Former prime minister Tony Blair could be called before a parliamentary inquiry to explain a secret deal he made with Sinn Fein to assure republican fugitives that they were not wanted by the police, it was reported.

MPs on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee may consider the move, the Sunday Telegraph said.

The peace process plan agreed between Sinn Fein and Mr Blair's Labour government saw around 200 letters of assurance sent to on-the-runs telling them they were not wanted by UK authorities but not ruling out future prosecutions if new evidence emerged.

The committee is investigating after the collapse of the case against a man accused of the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing which killed four soldiers.

John Downey, 62, from Co Donegal, was among those who received letters under the government's administrative scheme. In his case it wrongly assured him he was not wanted when, in fact, the Metropolitan Police were looking for him.

Mr Blair has so far not given evidence to the committee in person. He is a Middle East peace envoy.

But his role in orchestrating the deal over the letters is coming under increasing scrutiny.

On Thursday the results of another inquiry into the affair, led by Lady Justice Heather Hallett, will be published.

Lady Justice Hallett's report is expected to addresssecret negotiations between Mr Blair and Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, on how to deal with "on-the-run" suspects.

Because they had not been convicted, they did not fall within the scope of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which saw jailed paramilitaries released early.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in