Govt ‘turning blind eye’ to Legacy pressures on police – Jon Boutcher
Govt ‘turning blind eye’ to Legacy pressures on police – Jon Boutcher
By Claudia Savage, Press Association, Belfast News Letter, April 3rd, 2026
The Government is turning "a blind eye" to "pressures unfairly and unreasonably placed" on the PSNI by Troubles Legacy legislation, the force's Chief Constable has said.
Jon Boutcher warned that Northern Ireland's police have neither "the people nor the time" to assess material needed to deal with cases from the Troubles and expecting the force to do so would "infringe on the independence of the investigation".
All UK police probes into Troubles-related killings were shut down in May 2024 under the previous Conservative government's Legacy Act, and a new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was established.
The current Labour Government Bill, agreed as part of a joint framework with the Irish government, will put in place a reformed Legacy Commission with enhanced powers.
Mr Boutcher said the legacy of the Troubles "has to be addressed" and requires a broader scope than "funding the commission".
He told the policing board on Thursday: "I'm aware that the Northern Ireland office is seeking significant funding from the Treasury for the new Legacy Commission , and yet no consideration is given to helping the PSNI supply the majority of material that will be required by the Commission if it is to succeed.
"Indeed, worse than even that, the Troubles Bill requires the PSNI to undertake various assessments of every document that we will provide to it.
"We neither have the people nor the time to do this.
"The Legacy material held by the PSNI should be provided in an unfettered manner to the Commission.
"It should be for the Commission to suitably classify documents and determine any prejudice that might exist, not for the PSNI.
"Surely for us to do any such role would infringe on the independence of the investigation and the principles of ECHR.
"Further to these challenges, many legacy civil cases are culminating in the courts.
"The PSNI has no funding to address these cases that we inherited from policing during the Troubles era.
"The money to fund such cases comes from a budget that should be paid for neighbourhood officers desperately needed to keep communities safe from paramilitaries and for providing trained detectives to tackle violence against women and girls and the exploitation of children online.
"The turning of a blind eye to the Legacy pressures unfairly and unreasonably placed on the PSNI, whilst hundreds of millions is being sought from the Treasury for the Legacy commission, will likely prove to be a point of failure for legacy."
Mr Boutcher later said there are 167 people working on Legacy issues but "it's not enough", and referred to the ongoing public inquiry into the 1998 Omagh Bombing which killed 29 people.
"We're in exchanges with the Omagh Inquiry at the moment around the speed with which we can provide material, some of that is linked to a lack to capital funding, because we think we could and should have had investment around IT to help us avoid having to have people do the work but allow software to do it for us, which is actually more reliable...
"But we are going to have to have 200 people in Legacy, unfunded, dealing with things from an era before the PSNI was created."
A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said: "As a result of the Legacy Act, responsibility for investigating Troubles-related deaths and serious injuries for the period 1966-1998 is the sole responsibility of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), not the PSNI, and this will remain the case when it becomes the Legacy Commission .
"This means the vast majority of the over 1,000 cases formerly within the remit of the PSNI Legacy Investigation Branch no longer form part of its caseload, allowing the police service to focus its resources elsewhere.
"The Legacy Commission will require a wide range of public authorities to disclose information to facilitate information recovery for victims and families."
50th anniversary of Herron family deaths in IRA bomb to be marked
By Rebecca Black, Press Association, Belfast News Letter, April 3rd, 2026
William Herron, 64, his wife Elizabeth (right), 58, and their daughter Noeline, 26, who died when a bomb, planted by the Provisional IRA, exploded in the family's drapery shop in Dromore, Co Down 50 years ago.
The surviving family of a father, mother and daughter killed in a bomb attack in Co Down 50 years ago have said they want them to be remembered for their goodness and humanity, and not how they died.
William Herron , 64; his wife Elizabeth, 58, and their youngest daughter Noeline, 26, were victims of the bomb planted by the Provisional IRA, which exploded in the family's drapery shop in Dromore on April 7 1976.
They had been in their home above the shop when the building was destroyed in the explosion.
They will be remembered in a memorial parade, service of remembrance and wreath laying ceremony in Dromore on Tuesday evening, and at a service at Banbridge Road Presbyterian Church on Sunday April 12 .
n a statement, the Herron family described April 7 1976 as a "date that will forever be etched in our minds and our hearts as a family, but also within the fabric of the town of Dromore".
"On that date, three beloved members of our family were cruelly murdered by the Provisional IRA. They had no enemies that we ever knew of, they were respected members of the local community and were viewed as hardworking, loyal and good neighbours to all," they said.
"Their murders sent shockwaves across a community which had been relatively unscathed as a consequence of the terrorist campaign up until this point.
"William established the business in Dromore but on expansion, he purchased bigger premises on the corner of the Square and Bridge Street, and the family moved into the accommodation above the shop. In the years that followed, the drapery business prospered in Dromore and in manufacturing band and other uniforms and regalia.
"Meanwhile, Elizabeth had many interests outside her role as a homemaker, including meals on wheels.
"Noeline was the youngest sibling of five and was very much involved in the family business. She worked in the Dromore shop, which sold household goods, curtain material and fabrics."
"As a family, we do not want them to be remembered solely for how they died, we want their goodness and humanity to be their legacy.
"It was never anyone's right to target a family-owned business for reasons motivated by sectarian and ethnic hatred of difference."
A man and two teenage sisters were jailed for the murders following a trial in 1981, but the women were released in 1985 after being given Royal Prerogatives of Mercy.
Family still seek answers
The family said that adolescents could be responsible for such horror, "somehow makes this act of terrorism all the more difficult to process".
However, they said they are clear that ultimate responsibility "rests with the puppet masters - those who ordered and/or directed them to do so".
"There are others who have never been held accountable for the crime," they said.
They added: "Our loved ones will never be forgotten by our family, however, we are conscious that as time moves forward, the broader community can become more withdrawn.
"We feel it very important that today's generation and those still to come do understand the story of our family, and of the impact within Dromore town of what happened.
"Crucially, terrorism did not victor, the community was not permanently divided by the actions of those who sought to do so."
The family has been supported by victims' group SEFF.
Director Kenny Donaldson said the murder of the three family members "remain shocking to this day".
"The family were immensely well respected right across the community of Dromore and much further afield," he said.
"They remain resolute and determined not to let terrorism define them, nor ever victor, they are a family who represent the best of human values, and we pray that in this milestone 50th year, the community at large come out and stand with the family shoulder to shoulder in a visible act of solidarity.
"The family still seek answers in terms of what happened to their loved ones, they require a more complete picture of events and they must also be afforded respect by the authorities who are required to explain to the family why the two young women concerned, who were convicted, were then given the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and released from prison."
