Oral question AQO 483/22-27
Oral question by Mr Jim Allister KC on .
- MLA
- Mr Jim Allister KC
- Party at the time
- Traditional Unionist Voice
- Date
- 16 May 2024
- Type
- Oral question
- Assembly reference
- AQO 483/22-27
- Department
- The Executive Office
- Business
- To the First Minister and deputy First Minister
- Assembly identifier
- Document 401821
Read the official Assembly record Open Data source
Text
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of their statutory obligation to represent the interests of victims, whether they intend to take action to address the legacy of the past, including condemning murders carried out by the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.
47 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Follow-ups by the same MLA in the Chamber
These were assessed together with this record:
- 28 May 2024 – Now, First Minister, try my question, which you avoided. You oversee victims policy, but you still side with the…
- 28 May 2024 – — of the obscenity of the position that you hold?
- 28 May 2024 – Answer the question.
Assessment
Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism
Decided as qualifying on a second assessment, because Jev’s answers did not settle it. The reasons are given below.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.65 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.42).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Second assessment
Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works
- Verdict
- Qualifying
- Public interest or divisiveness
- Mixed
Against the published rubric
The tabled question invokes the Executive Office's statutory duty towards victims, but its specific request is for a symbolic act: condemnation of Provisional IRA murders, a long-running legacy flashpoint. The follow-up drops any policy content. It accuses the First Minister of siding "with the victim-makers" and calls the position held an "obscenity", which is an attempt to embarrass an opponent over a contested account of the Troubles. No practical decision on victims' services, funding or legacy mechanisms is sought, so the controversy is pursued beyond any substantive question raised.
Public interest or divisiveness
Concern for victims of terrorist violence is a genuine public-interest matter, and condemning murder is not hostility towards a community as a whole. However, the exchange functions mainly to put an opponent on the spot over the long-running demand for condemnation of the IRA, rather than to scrutinise victims policy or its delivery. The language of "siding" with terrorists and "obscenity" deepens the communal argument over the past rather than advancing any outcome for victims.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.30 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.11 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.26 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.41 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.47 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.65 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.38 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.02 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.42 |
| Adopts it | 0.18 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 08:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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