A Protestant victims' group has pledged to take court action challenging the appointment of the four-member Victims Commission because one commissioner described her brother as an IRA "volunteer" who was killed while on "active service".
Several unionist politicians have complained about Patricia McBride's profile in the press release about the commissioners released on Monday.
Ms McBride, along with former interim victims commissioner Bertha McDougall, former UTV broadcaster Mike Nesbitt, and professional mediator Brendan McAllister, were this week appointed by First Minister Rev Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
Ms McBride (37) is a public relations consultant who served as a lay magistrate and was a victims' representative on the Northern Ireland Civic Forum. Her press release explained how her father was killed in a sectarian attack in 1972 and how "her brother was an IRA volunteer who was killed by the SAS whilst on active service in 1984".
Her 27-year-old brother Antoin Mac Giolla Bhride was shot dead by the SAS in December 1984. An SAS man and another IRA men were also killed as the IRA prepared to place a bomb between Pettigo, Co Donegal, and Kesh, Co Fermanagh.
Unionist politicians Rev William McCrea and Jim Wells of the DUP and David Burnside of the Ulster Unionist Party deplored her description of her brother. Mr McCrea's comment that "no terrorist can ever be equated to the innocent victims in Northern Ireland" generally reflected the views of those who criticised her appointment.
William Frazer, of Families Acting for Innocent Victims (Fair), said his group would challenge the composition of the commission in the High Court. He said Ms McBride's description of her brother "legitimises the terrorist activities of these men and indeed are direct lifts from their own propaganda".
Mr Frazer said the other commissioners' failure to repudiate this description implied they accepted her view of her brother. Therefore, as virtually all unionist victims could not accept this description, it meant that the commission could not represent unionist and Protestant victims.
"This will be one of the grounds on which we will take our court action," said Mr Frazer.
The commissioners issued a statement last night saying they "would be disappointed if a legal challenge delays victims and survivors receiving the support we believe we can offer". They added, however, that they "fully respect the right of any individual or group to seek a judicial review of our appointments".
Ms McBride added that she wrote her own profile and "it reflects the aspects of my personal and professional life relevant to my appointment".
"I run a successful public relations company in which I've worked on cross-Border and cross-community projects. I've served as a lay magistrate for three years and I have many years' experience of working with victims and survivors right across our community," she said.
