The DUP has rounded on Sinn Féin over republican criticism of a High Court ruling yesterday that many of the 5,500 police officers who suffered mental anguish arising from their service during the Troubles had the right to claim millions of pounds in compensation.
The RUC was liable for damages from 1986 to 1994 because of systematic failures in the management of the force, Mr Justice Coghlin ruled in the High Court in Belfast.
The officers claimed they were inadequately equipped to deal with the effects of the extremely traumatic nature of their duties which resulted in widespread post-traumatic stress disorder leading to broken lives, wrecked marriages and excessive drinking.
Awards to individual officers, nearly half of them retired, will be determined after 10 lead cases illustrating the generic issues are examined in detail to establish the degree of psychiatric damage the officers suffered.
The total compensation bill is expected to top £100 million and it is believed that more than half the claimants will be eligible.
Sinn Féin MLA Francie Molloy said the ruling ignored the "fact that this force is discredited, was involved in murder, torture, collusion and human rights abuses. Compensating those involved in this type of activity will justifiably anger victims, particularly at a time when victims' organisations are crying out for proper funding".
DUP South Antrim MP the Rev William McCrea said it was "absolutely sickening" to hear the "disrespect" shown by Mr Molloy. "It stinks of hypocrisy that Molloy's party was fully supportive of terrorist prisoners receiving rehabilitation funding yet they deny the innocent victims of the Troubles any access to compensation for legitimate needs," he said.
In a statement welcoming the judgment, the officers' union, the Police Federation, said: "We have successfully established many of the key principles that the chief constable denied to the last day of the trial. What, however, concerns us is the finding that the chief constable could be let off the hook because of the appalling lack of resources which blighted the work of the Occupational Health Unit and still does." The case was the largest group action ever taken in the United Kingdom and the hearing lasted 102 days, a record.
At the end of his 109-page judgment, Mr Justice Coghlin said the current mood of vibrant optimism in Northern Ireland was due in no small part of the quiet, dignified and dogged courage of ordinary men and women who were prepared to place themselves and often their families between anarchy and the rule of law.
The judge said: "In doing so they found themselves experiencing a catalogue of horrors that in some cases caused emotional damage as real as that produced by bomb or bullet. For some, troubled by persistent flashbacks and intrusive thoughts, putting the past behind them may not be a realistic option without having to undergo prolonged and distressing treatment." The judge said whether compensation was obtained in any particular case would depend on individual circumstances in the light of the generic findings. "However, no one who heard the evidence in some of the lead cases could seriously doubt that individuals have been damaged whilst simply doing their duty," he said.
Earlier in the judgment, Mr Justice Coghlin referred to the "macho culture" within the RUC which led to officers suppressing symptoms of psychiatric problems. No one wanted to be thought of as requiring to "see a shrink", he said.
The judge said there was a theory that people exposed to trauma tended to use drink as a form of self-medication but he was not persuaded that the connection was as clear as had been claimed. Preliminary hearings relating to the lead cases will begin next Tuesday.
Ulster Unionist Assembly member Basil McCrea said "the judge rightly identified the emotional stress of serving in the midst of a terror campaign as being every bit as devastating as the physical effect of bomb and bullet".
SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said the ruling could have wider implications for other people who were caught up in the Troubles as a result of their job or profession.