Amnesty for escaped IRA terrorists

Tony Blair faced widespread outrage today as it emerged that he is set to grant an amnesty to dozens of IRA terrorists, in a deal he has struck with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

He is expected to announce over Easter that up to 30 IRA gunmen who have broken out of jail or are on the run could be pardoned. In exchange, the soldiers who are implicated in the Bloody Sunday killings will not face charges.

Unionists warned today that the deal could shatter the fragile Ulster peace process. Ulster Unionist leader and Northern Ireland's First Minister David Trimble said: "This will provoke uproar. Our people are already fed up with IRA foot-dragging over arms decommissioning."

The amnesty, hammered out over talks during the past two years between Mr Blair and Mr Adams, would apply only to terrorists involved in acts of violence before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The deal would not cover the Omagh bombing, where 29 people were killed by the dissident group the Real IRA.

Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid may announce within weeks that about 30 terrorists are being offered an "act of mercy" under Royal prerogative. The other option is for him to push legislation through the Commons which would cover all fugitives.

Some of those who may be freed under the deal include Dermot Finucane and Kevin Artt, who fled across the Atlantic after escaping from the Maze in 1983.

Artt has been held in San Francisco awaiting extradition hearings since he was arrested in 1992. He was convicted of murdering Albert Miles, deputy governor of the Maze. Terence Kirby, another Maze escaper convicted of murder, was also arrested in California and has been fighting extradition.

The new amnesty may also end attempts to extradite Nessan Quinlivan, who escaped from Brixton Prison 20 years ago. He is still wanted for conspiracy to murder and terrorist charges.

In October, after the IRA began to decommission its first weapons as a crucial part of the peace process, Dr Reid said an amnesty would be granted to some Republican and Loyalist terrorists on the run. But the Government has come under fire recently for not being serious about the decommissioning of weapons, and for ignoring the views of the people of Northern Ireland.

New legislation has extended by one year the period in which a decommissioning scheme may provide an amnesty for those handing over weapons. But the Tories have urged the Commons to limit the amnesty to 2005, cutting two years off the Government's 2007 time scale for terrorists to hand over their arms, amid concern over the concessions Republicans are winning.

There have also been suggestions that the IRA will shortly embark on a further round of decommissioning, which could boost Sinn Fein's chances in the forthcoming general election in the Irish Republic by showing their commitment to join the political mainstream.

A second major act of disarmament is imminent, or may already have happened, according to security sources who believe the arms will be handed over in the Irish Republic, where the bulk of the IRA's arsenal is thought to be hidden.

But Mr Trimble is also under pressure to impose fresh sanctions on Sinn Fein when he presents a review of the peace process to his party's ruling council this weekend.