The Truth Commissioner

(RAIN FALLS IN BACKGROUND)

(HE STIFLES LAUGHTER)

(DOG BARKS IN BACKGROUND)

(MUFFLED CRIES)

(MUFFLED CRIES)

(AEROPLANE NOISE IN BACKGROUND)

Michael.

I hope you got some rest.

How long has it been?

12th of May 1992.

Connor Roche's murder.

I see Francis Gilroy

is now a man in a suit.

The last thing we want is for you

to feel exposed at the hearing.

What I want you to do

is remember everything

you can about Connor Roche.

Now.

From the very start.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CONNOR PANTS)

Connor!

Connor!

Don't do this.

Connor!

(CONNOR PANTS)

Connor!

Connor!

Don't be stupid, Connor!

- Beckett. Sir.

- Beckett.

- This way, please. Ma'am.

- Thank you.

You're expected at Stormont by ten.

10:
30 press conference

with the Prime Minister,

who will introduce you to

local government ministers,

followed by drinks then dinner,

with 12 cross-community leaders.

- The last supper.

- Except you're not Jesus, Henry.

(POLICE SIREN)

Did I tell you my daughter lives there?

Several times.

You planning on seeing her?

That all depends on her, I'm afraid.

How old is she?

30. Same thing.

REPORTER:
The conflict

resolution expert Henry Stanfield

has been appointed in a bid to

lend honesty and transparency

to the stalled

reconciliation process.

The coming months will tell whether

Northern Ireland is ready to face

the truth about its past,

or whether the past is

too present to contemplate.

For CNN, I'm Jesse Wheeler. Belfast.

(CAMERAS CLICK)

Stand back, please. Stand back.

(REPORTERS TALK OVER EACH OTHER)

Stand back, please. Stand back, please.

Stand back, please. Thank you.

No-one's asking anyone to forget.

We try to get at the truth.

After that, people make up their

own minds, make their own futures,

hopefully for the better.

Thank you.

(REPORTERS TALK OVER EACH OTHER)

On the right, Unionist

MLA's leader, Harry Bryson.

On the left, Francis

Gilroy, Sinn Fein Minister.

Behind him, Johnny Rafferty,

Sinn Fein head of communications.

Coppers:
Alec Reid, Chief Constable

Police Service Northern Ireland.

Henry.

- Hello, Henry. - Prime Minister.

- Picked a good day.

Henry Stanfield, son of a Northern

Ireland mother and an English father

is in so many ways the best

that these islands have to offer.

No offence to the Scots and the Welsh.

(GENTLE LAUGHTER)

He brings honesty, integrity

and experience to this job.

We are very lucky to have him.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the Truth Commissioner for

Northern Ireland, Henry Stanfield.

(APPLAUSE)

- So, how was Libya?

- Well, like everything, it's a process.

- That bad, huh?

- I do firmly believe in the process.

Of course.

Sorry to interrupt, but the PM's leaving.

Laura Darnell, my legal

aid. Minister Francis Gilroy.

- Pleasure to meet you.

- And you.

If you'll excuse us, we

ought to show our faces.

- We'll talk again, I hope.

- Good luck, Mr. Stanfield.

Still bringing the truth

to unbelievers, Henry?

Why am I not surprised to see you here?

I see you've befriended

governor of the year, 1990.

They tell me he's travelled

a long way since then.

He's the coming man, they say.

Who's that?

Don't say your legal aid, please.

She's off-limits.

What are you doing here, Jake?

Not planning another cock-up

like the one in Libya?

I'm an adviser of some sort.

PM, apparently.

On what, pricing tips?

Very good, Henry.

How are you going to survive these people?

Well, they don't look so bad.

Well, don't go lifting stones unless

you know what's underneath them.

Is that a message?

Yes.

Unless you still want to be

here in 2020, narrow the brief.

Hello.

Hello.

- Laura Darnell, Jake Marston.

- Pleasure to meet you. - You too.

- The PM?

- Yes, of course.

(INDISTINCT VOICE ON TELEVISION)

REPORTER:
The conflict resolution

expert Henry Stanfield has been

appointed Truth Commissioner,

with blessings from both the

UK and the Irish government.

The truth can and will

lead towards healing

- and a lasting peace.

- This eve...

(PHONE RINGS)

Hi, this is Emma. Leave a message.

Emma, it's your father again.

I was hoping you might have called.

I'm in Belfast, you've got my number.

Bye.

What's all this?

Police files. Or what

they tell us are the files.

Police dragging their feet?

The usual.

Those are newspaper reports

on the dead or disappeared...

sectarian murder, tribal

division, political assassination,

all scanned, indexed,

cross-referenced, and all

accessible from your desktop.

(PHONE RINGS)

Yes?

OK. Thanks.

Henry, the chief constable

is in your office.

Ah. What are we still missing?

Practically everything pre-1994.

Right.

Let's go and meet him.

Good morning, Chief Constable.

Truth Commissioner.

I am told that despite repeated requests,

you're withholding crucial evidence.

I don't know who told you that.

Personnel files incomplete,

Special Branch files untraceable...

smacks of history being rewritten.

We do expect you to deliver

the files in their entirety.

Many of them are falling to bits.

They are 35 years old.

Hardly the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Maybe they had a better

class of paper in those days.

I take it you're in favour

of the Truth Commission?

Oh, we all want the truth.

- But?

- But what is it going to cost?

Don't obstruct this

commission, Chief Constable.

Actually, I just came by to let

you know that the missing files

have been recovered.

- They'll be delivered to you here this morning.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes