The Government today came under fierce and emotional attack over its plan to allow fugitive Northern Ireland terror suspects wanted for serious crimes to walk free without facing a day in prison.

The Northern Ireland Offences Bill has been described as "grotesque" by victims of the Troubles. Introducing the Bill for a second reading in the Commons, Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said the plan was necessary to bring closure to the IRA’s campaign of violence.

But he was quickly enveloped by a noisy interruptions from all sides of the chamber. MPs complained that the proposed legislation, which will let fugitive terror suspects walk free after a perfunctory trial they will not even have to attend, offered no justice to victims of violence and was inconsistent with the Government's other anti-terrorism policies.

Iris Robinson, the Democratic Unionist (DUP) MP for Strangford, told Mr Hain that the Bill would bring pain to the thousands of victims of the IRA, and "fathers and mothers with broken hearts" whose families had been destroyed in the violence.

"This will not bring closure but will bring more anger, will bring more pain simply because these people relied on this Government to allow them to see justice done to those who perpetrated these heinous crimes," she said.

The Rev William McCrea, the DUP MP for Antrim South, described seeing his two young cousins after they had been blown up by the IRA. "I’m asking you to tell me am I to bury justice to appease murderers of the IRA?" Mr McCrea asked, his voice breaking with emotion.

Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead, contrasted the legislation, which amounts to a virtual amnesty for paramilitaries wanted for terrorism-related crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement, with the Government's tough stance on Islamic extremism. Mr Field said the Bill sent out "conflicting messages".

As MPs shouted out angrily, Michael Martin, the Speaker, intervened to warn that he would suspend the sitting if the shouting continued.

Earlier Tony Blair told MPs that he understood the "pain and anguish" aroused by the proposals, but insisted that fugitive terror suspects who committed offences before the Good Friday Agreement were entitled to the same judicial process as convicted terrorists freed under the agreement. More than 400 paramilitaries were released from prison after the peace deal in 1998.

"I understand the anger that they provoked and that is very natural, particularly from those who have suffered so much from acts of IRA terrorism, however I do believe it is a necessary part of securing the overall agreement," he said.

In an interview ahead of this afternoon's debate, Mr Hain, compared the Bill to reconciliation legislation passed in South Africa. He said that the offer not to punish "on the run" terrorist suspects, known as OTRs, was a critical bargaining chip in the negotiations that led to the ending of the armed IRA campaign this summer.

"Sometimes governments have to do very difficult things, this bit of legislation included, to end conflict," he said. "They had to do it in South Africa, they had to do it in other conflicts around the world. It is part of the endgame when you stop the violence, the shootings, the bombings, the awful horror and you start moving forward."

Politicians from every Northern Ireland party, with the exception of Sinn Fein, have criticised the Bill, saying it does not seek the truth behind the violence of the Troubles and will encourage people accused of crimes committed before 1998 to claim they had a political motive.

If the Bill passes, fugitives will apply to a "certification commissioner" to consider their case. In serious cases, certificate holders will be prosecuted in a "Crown Court-type process" overseen over by a retired judge. Defendants will not have to attend the trial and, if convicted, would immediately be granted a licence to remain free.

Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, stoked further controversy by insisting that members of the British security forces should not be covered by the legislation. As it stands, military personnel involved in any of the hundreds of fatal shootings committed by the security forces will also be eligible for a certificate and licence under the Bill.

"Sinn Fein did not support, propose, discuss or accept that members of the British state forces should be part of the process. For this reason we did not argue for an amnesty," Mr Adams said today.

"On the contrary, we opposed this approach and we sought to ensure the scheme would not hinder the search for the truth or provide immunity for members of British state forces who carried out or were responsible for state killings and collusion."

Unionists expressed disbelief. Jeffrey Donaldson, a Democratic Unionist MP, said: "It’s absolutely incredible how Sinn Fein can apply double standards to the issue of justice. On the one hand they are demanding British soldiers and former RUC officers have to be put in the dock and charged with all kinds of spurious allegations, whereas some of the most notorious terrorist killers responsible for multiple murders are to walk free without serving a day in prison."

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