Reaction to Eames/Bradley report

GORDON BROWN, PRIME MINISTER

I understand why one of the recommendations has provoked such controversy in Northern Ireland. I will never forget the innocent victims in Northern Ireland.

SHAUN WOODWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE

What we owe everybody in this story, not just the commission but all the families of all of the victims, is to actually look at the work that Eames and Bradley have put together, which after all is based on consulting with them.

NIGEL DODDS, DUP DEPUTY LEADER

There can be no moral equivalence between the people who were murdered in the Shankill Road bombing and the criminal Thomas Begley who murdered them. I hope that the government understands and appreciates the degree of moral revulsion which exists within the community at this idea and will act accordingly.

GERRY ADAMS, SINN FEIN PRESIDENT

"The Consultative Group is proposing the creation of a Legacy Commission appointed by the British government. This is not the independent and international commission, established by a reputable international body like the UN, that Sinn Féin believes is necessary to properly address this issue.

REG EMPEY, UUP LEADER

The proposal regarding the £12,000 'recognition payment' has brought immense hurt. The outrage felt right across the community bears testimony to the fact that this proposal is fundamentally immoral, offending the common-sense decency that helped our society endure and emerge from the darkest years of the Troubles.

MARK DURKAN, SDLP LEADER

This report needs to be given full consideration and careful reflection in and around and in its specific recommendations.

DAVID FORD, ALLIANCE LEADER

While I have a fundamental problem with the recognition payment scheme, I hope that it will not undermine positive aspects of the report. I believe that the suggestion of a financial payment was ill-judged and members of the group have recognised that it is problematic.

CHURCH OF IRELAND GAZETTE

The main problem with this proposal is that it clearly and unfortunately suggests that there is a moral equivalence between the paramilitary victim and the innocent victim.

GRAND ORANGE LODGE OF IRELAND

More than 300 members of the Orange Order were murdered in the Troubles, many of them serving their country in the security forces, others while going about their daily lives and some while attending lodge meetings. The recommendation that money be paid to the families of the perpetrators of violence, as well as victims' families, is abhorrent and has contaminated the rest of the report

DAWN PURVIS, PUP LEADER

I would encourage those who protested at the launch to take time to reflect on the recommendations and talk to others with a different view in order to identify what is possible.

PETER GIBSON, NEWTOWNABBEY

A total and utter disgrace that terrorists are held up to the same level as innocent men, women and children. My father was shot dead by the Provisional IRA in 1993. His crime? He worked for a building company which undertook contracts for the security forces.

JOHN BURNS, BELFAST

My father was shot dead by British Army in July 1972, leaving my mum with four children aged between 3 and 11 years. What chance of justice have we? Sure the army nor the government will never admit blame or remorse for such events.

KEN ADAMSON, BELFAST

What I have seen and heard today is mass hysteria over the idea that terrorists are going to receive the money. They are not, they are dead but they have left loved ones behind who, in the vast majority of cases, knew nothing of their exploits.

KEITH, BELFAST

Lord Eames has lost a lot of respect over this. Maimed or permanently scarred victims get nothing - murderers' families get the sick kudos and payment. Would London accept the 7/7 bombers' families getting this handout? Once again decency is put aside in Northern Ireland to pay off the ones who caused the destruction.

PAUL, MANITOBA, CANADA

What about those victims who have been injured, such as my father, who lost his legs in the Abercorn bomb of 1972. Will they receive any payments to make their life easier? There are many who are also in this situation and struggle on with life.

LC, LONDONDERRY

Would this money not be better spent on improving facilities in local communities, public transport, education or health, which bring benefits to all? Let's move forward.

DAVID JONES, AMMANFORD, WALES

We as a family suffered mental stress for months as a member of our family served there as a soldier. But it was nothing compared to the grief and stress of innocent families who lost loved ones to the murderers of the IRA. To pay compensation to these murderers, some of whom were killed by their own bombs, is obscene and an insult to the families of innocent victims.

MATTHEW ROUTLEDGE, CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

As someone who lived with the Troubles for over 10 years in Northern Ireland, I have to say that I think the award of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to line the pockets of people who were nothing but cold-hearted terrorists, be they unionist or republican, is abhorrent to the memory of the many who fell in defence of their country. What next - payment of rewards to Iraqi or Taleban terrorists?

DARREN HEAL, ABERDEEN

Anyone convicted of a serious terrorist offence should automatically void their entitlement to compensation.

RODGER WEBB, LEAMINGTON SPA, ENGLAND

How much more is Northern Ireland going to cost the UK tax payer? This looks like a great gravy train for the usual suspects. How much did this report cost? How much do the members get paid?