Protesters disrupt legacy launch

The authors said their findings required a considered response

Proposals on how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, including a payment for families of all those killed, have been published.

Protesters disrupted the launch, including former unionist politician Cedric Wilson and Willie Frazer from victim's group Fair.

Unionists and some groups have rejected the payment because it would include republican and loyalist paramilitaries.

Report co-author Lord Eames described the money as a "recognition payment".

The 190-page report contains more than 30 recommendations.

It has been compiled by the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland's Troubles, during which more than 3,000 people died.

The proposals include a legacy commission which would be led by an international figure.

This commission would take over the work currently carried out by the police ombudsman, which investigates complaints against the police, and the Historical Enquiries Team, a specialist police unit set up to investigate unsolved killings throughout the Troubles.

One of the main critics of the plan to pay victims' families was Northern Ireland's First Minister, the DUP leader Peter Robinson.

He told Secretary of State Shaun Woodward on Tuesday that the suggestion had "irreparably damaged" the group's report.

Earlier on Wednesday, the two men who lead the Consultative Group on the Past said the money was "a small gesture by our society to acknowledge the grief of the families left devastated by the last 40 years".

Denis Bradley said the recognition payments were "not about compensation nor financial reward".

When we undertook this work, we were under no illusions that it would be extremely difficult for our society to escape the dark shadows of the past Lord EamesConsultative Group on the Past Lives lost to the Troubles

"Over the past number of days we have heard some victims' groups saying we don't want money, we want justice. Others have said we don't want money, we want truth.

"They are right to say that and our report will reflect both points of view.

"Equally they have to respect those who told us that they wanted neither justice nor truth. Others that we met want recognition by our society of their loss and suffering."

Former Church of Ireland Primate Lord Eames said it was a "challenging and complex report" on what was "too important an issue for instant responses".

"When we undertook this work, we were under no illusions that it would be extremely difficult for our society to escape the dark shadows of the past," he said.

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