Families Acting For Innocent Relatives - Controversies

Controversies

Critics have noted that FAIR has named Robert McConnell, a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, as a victim of IRA violence. McConnell was implicated in both the killing of the brothers of Eugene Reavey on January 4, 1976, and in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974.

FAIR has also been criticised for supporting Ian Paisley's 1999 allegation that Eugene Reavey was involved in the killing of ten Protestant civilians in the Kingsmill massacre on January 5, 1976. FAIR rejected the dismissal of the allegation against Reavey by Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.

In 2007 Peter Robinson, then deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), wrote to Frazer, telling him he "might find it much easier to get co-operation with political representatives if you were genuinely involved in Victim Support rather than opposition politics".

In May 2010 FAIR's head researcher William Wilkinson was convicted of rape and attempted rape. Wilkinson was also a local councillor in Ballymena for the Ulster Unionist Coalition Party. His appeal against conviction was rejected in July 2011.

In February 2010 the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister drew the attention of the body administering FAIR's funding from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to the publication on FAIR's website of political material critical of the agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin on the devolution of policing and justice.

In September 2010 the SEUPB withdrew funding, totalling £880,000, from FAIR. The SEUPB said that this was due to "major failures in the organisation's ability to adhere to the conditions associated with its funding allocation" uncovered following a "thorough audit" of the tendering and administration procedures used by FAIR. It said: "The SEUPB is charged with ensuring the proper use of public money and as such has no option but to revoke all financial assistance, (amounting to approximately £880,000), that has been offered to the organisation... FAIR has been given every opportunity to respond to and address these issues. The decision to revoke and recover all financial assistance given to the project has not been taken lightly, however, given the seriousness of the issues no other recourse is available."

The matter was referred to the PSNI Serious Organised Crime Branch, which a year later stated that the prosecution service had "directed that there was insufficient evidence to show a criminal offence, therefore there will be no prosecution".

On 16 November 2012, after he had reviewed a copy of the SEUPB audit report which had given rise to a demand for the return of £350,000 of funding, Frazer announced that he was stepping down as director of FAIR.