T1. Mr McNulty asked the Minister of Justice, given that the Police Ombudsman has today released her report on the Kingsmills massacre and that the sole survivor, Alan Black, has likened the North of Ireland to a "banana republic" when it comes to hiding the truth of the Troubles and protecting informers and handlers, to what extent that lack of confidence in the justice system is retraumatising victims and survivors and inhibiting their ability to access truth and justice. (AQT 1261/22-27)

On the day on which the Kingsmills report has been published, my immediate thoughts are with Alan Black and his family. What he suffered is unimaginable. Everyone should take time to reflect not only on the totality of the ombudsman's report but on the dire injuries that he sustained in that attack and the trauma that will have been attached to it. He has been an incredible champion, albeit quietly, for those who lost their lives and those who suffered loss. I pay tribute to him for what he has done in that regard.

I do not want to comment on the content of the ombudsman's report: as you will appreciate, I want to reflect on the contents before I do so. However, I will say this in response to the Member's concern: legacy casts a shadow over the modern-day justice system in a way that is neither helpful nor justified. What happened in the past and the accountability to which people are being held for what happened in the past involved a different service in a different time. It was a time when technology, procedures and operational matters were different. None of that justifies the egregious breaches that took place at that time, but it puts in context the reform that has happened over the past 30-plus years in the justice system. There is a danger that the ombudsman's office, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the justice system more widely will become infected with the criticism of days gone by, when none of us was in the Chamber, none of us was in control of policy and none of us was able to contribute to change. We can do that now, and it is important that we take the opportunity to reinforce the fact that people have a right to truth and justice and to a fair hearing. All those things that we try to maintain in the modern-day justice system are important to all of us, and we should not seek to undermine the modern-day justice system on the basis of negative commentary on the past.

I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, I encourage you to contact Alan Black to share with him those warm words about him. Will you commit to petitioning the Secretary of State to launch a public inquiry into the Kingsmills massacre to reassure victims that there is no hierarchy of victims?

It is not for me to call for public inquiries at this time. There has been an extensive investigation by the Police Ombudsman. It is important that we take the time to read that report, reflect on it and then look carefully at what might be gained by further investigation and work in that space. If there are gaps in the understanding as a result of any of those investigations, we will, of course, want to pursue those, but we also need to be clear that simply calling for public inquiry after public inquiry will not necessarily get us a clearer picture if all the avenues of investigation have already been exhausted. I am wary of putting families, victims and survivors through a series of hoops that, in the end, may not bring them the satisfaction that they so desperately want or the truth that they so desperately need, but I am certainly not ruling anything in or out at this early stage.