What the papers say

What the papers say

Journalist Mike Philpott takes a look at what is making the headlines in Friday's morning newspapers.

One single issue dominates the news pages here, in London and in Dublin and that issue is the latest report of the Stevens inquiry.

The Guardian describes it as a shameful story of murder, collusion and obstruction more commonly associated with South American dictatorships.

For the Irish Independent, the scandal of Northern Ireland's secret war has been laid bare.

The Mirror says the British state lowered itself to the level of terrorists.

The Independent comments that the government is in the humiliating position of having to admit that republican claims - dismissed at the time as wild and politically motivated - have turned out to be true.

The front of the Irish News is dominated by photographs of some of those who died as a result of collusion between members of the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries.

But the paper says we simply don't know how many victims there were in total.

It believes the report has weaknesses - not least the fact that the decision on prosecutions lies elsewhere.

A sceptical public will wonder if the guilty will ever be brought to justice, it says, and for that reason it repeats its often-stated demand for a full independent inquiry.

'Great credit'

The Irish Times is concerned that the investigation team faced a culture of obstruction throughout the Army and the RUC.

The Irish Independent says Sir John Stevens deserves great credit for facing down these obstructions, including the burning down of his office.

But it argues that things have moved on, and the new police service starts with a clean slate.

The News Letter says that among the people who will be shocked by the findings will be the thousands of honourable RUC officers whose diligence and courage have been besmirched by a criminal minority who lost sight of their fundamental duty.

It believes that, while the police service can rightly claim to have moved into a new era, we can't leave the past as if it never happened.

To ensure that such criminal excesses can never happen again, it says, the government might well decide that a judicial investigation is in the public interest.

But it must have a sensible timescale, budget, and remit.

Security forces 'misdeeds'

Two papers take a different line. The Daily Telegraph argues that events were much more complex than the report suggests.

The Mail says that, whatever the misdeeds of the security forces, they were nothing compared with the slaughter inflicted by the IRA and loyalist terrorists.

The Times reports on a remarkable court hearing. Judge Barry Woodward heard pleas from defendants in several cases, even though they were in Manchester and he was in Spain.

The paper says he had organised a holiday at his villa when the cases arose. But instead of changing his plans, he decided to hear them with the help of a secure internet link.

Apparently he has been pioneering a new system of electronic justice in Britain and decided that this was the perfect way to test its capabilities.