Withdrawal of OTR legislation must mean end to all side deals - Ford

1.02.00pm GMT Wed 11th Jan 2006

Alliance Leader David Ford has said that the Government's withdrawal of legislation dealing with on-the-runs must mean an end to all side deals.

He stated: "This murky side deal goes back to the Weston Park talks five years ago, and has rightly resulted in complete failure. The lesson the Government must learn from this is that the political process cannot be run via dodgy carve-ups."

By definition, all political parties represent a minority of the electorate. People will have no faith in a process managed in such a style. We must be seeking solutions which have broad popular support, not engaging in tribal carve-up.

This, and many other issues, must now be dealt with in the proper way -- via inclusive talks. There is no point in waiting for the end of the month for this to happen, let us get on with it now.

"I am proud the Alliance Party played the lead role in ensuring this legislation was scrapped, and in showing up the process of tribal side-deals for the failure it is. This marks a clear ictory for those committed to genuine, inclusive democracy."

ENDS