Sir Jeffrey said,
“The work of the police, army or the security services was a just cause. Their job was to undermine terrorists. The fact that the security services had so many agents working at the top of the PIRA, is testament to their success.
Whilst having lessons to learn for the Government, the report reminds us that the intelligence agencies had infiltrated the PIRA to such an extent that they rendered the organisation almost inoperable.
Working within the Security Forces was a role of honour in the Troubles. It was a courageous role undertaken by people who wanted to defeat terrorism, protect the entire community, and secure peace for us all.
Whilst some will want to rewrite history and develop their own narrative of the past which blames those who tried to uphold the law as much as the terrorists, this is a distortion of reality.
90% of the deaths in the Troubles were perpetrated by terrorists. We must remember that the soldiers were on our streets because of the terrorist campaign.
£40m is a huge bill to investigate the activities of one agent in the PIRA. It begs the question if that money might have been better spent on pro-active policing today. It is even more disappointing that on the back of such an expensive investigation, the PPS has failed to secure a single prosecution.
In the coming days, we will be asking more questions of those tasked with making decisions about troubles related prosecutions in Northern Ireland.
Where evidence exists against terrorist perpetrators, innocent victims must not be denied access to justice. This principle cannot be compromised.”