Blair to appear before IRA 'on the runs' inquiry
Tony Blair is due to give evidence before a parliamentary investigation into the On The Runs (OTRs) scheme for fugitive IRA members later today.
The former British prime minister’s administration sent about 200 letters to republicans assuring them they were not being pursued by the UK authorities following requests from Sinn Féin.
An investigation was launched by MPs when the prosecution of a man for the murder of four soldiers during an explosion in Hyde Park in 1982 was halted after he received one of the letters in error.
The OTR letters scheme began while Mr Blair was premier, and the chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has said he is one of the most important witnesses to the inquiry.
A spokesman for the committee said Mr Blair had confirmed he would be attending a sitting today.
He has been summoned to be questioned about how his government dealt with suspects in crimes committed during the North’s 30-year conflict from 1969 to 1998, when the Agreement was signed.
His administration began a peace process scheme in 2000 which saw 95 of the so-called letters of comfort issued by the government to suspects linked by intelligence to almost 300 murders.
They told people they were not wanted at that time but did not rule out future prosecutions if new evidence became available.
The scheme was drawn up following pressure from Sinn Féin to allow the fugitives, who had been in prison before 1998 and would have been released under the Good Friday Agreement, to return to the North.
Sinn Féin has argued that those covered by the letters scheme supported the peace process.
