British prime minister Tony Blair has insisted controversial legislation granting an effective amnesty or pardon to "on the run" terrorist suspects (OTRs) is necessary to give momentum to the stalled peace process in Northern Ireland.
He has also suggested - despite the declared opposition of all but Sinn Féin - that the political parties in the North "know this has to be done" to clear the way for negotiations aimed at restoring Northern Ireland's political institutions. However, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain will face opposition from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, as well as the DUP, SDLP and UUP, in the Commons this afternoon, when MPs debate the Northern Ireland Offences Bill at second reading.
Mr Blair and Mr Hain will be accused of creating a system of "sham trials" offering effective amnesty or pardon for paramilitary fugitives while denying "closure" to victims and their families, and of creating "a new anomaly" by breaching the provisions for paramilitary prisoner releases agreed as part of the Belfast Agreement.
The proposal will entitle those outside the jurisdiction and wanted by the police to have their cases heard by a special tribunal which they need not attend. In a newspaper article yesterday, Mr Hain said these "special procedures" would see OTRs facing conviction and licence conditions meaning they could be rearrested and imprisoned at any time if they committed a serious offence again.
However, critics argue that it will be difficult to find guilt since the accused will not have been arrested, subjected to interrogation or required to testify.
Like Mr Hain, the prime minister argued yesterday that the legislation was necessary to correct an "anomaly" whereby the OTRs would have been freed had they been in jail when the agreement was signed in April 1998. However, Conservative spokesman David Lidington will counter that OTRs could be dealt with under the existing rules.