asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the historical enquiries team of the Police Service of Northern Ireland is creating a separate collusion investigation unit; what is the purpose of the unit; what is the unit's estimated annual cost; and whether units will be established for other murder categories. [HL3310]

The Historic Enquiries Team (HET) has the responsibility to look at all of the deaths relating to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, between 1968 and 1998. This amounts to 3,268 deaths in 2,516 incidents.

To deal with some cases where “collusion” is alleged without delaying work on the majority of cases a small four-person team overseen by the deputy director of HET has been established. This team has been set up because it is believed to be the most efficient way of handling these cases.

The team was established in January 2006 and to date has expenditure of approximately £50,000. This represents approximately 1 per cent of the overall annual spend of HET.

There are no plans to develop units for other murder categories.