Northern Ireland's First Minister has labelled the Government's handling of so-called on-the-run Republican terror suspects as a "murky deal" with Sinn Fein.
Peter Robinson's comments come amid a row over whether letters sent to nearly 200 alleged IRA fugitives as part of the ongoing peace process provided them with immunity.
The writing of state-sanctioned letters, which effectively granted immunity from arrest, led to the collapse of the trial of John Downey, who was suspected of involvement in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing.
The scene of the 1982 Hyde Park bombing Addressing the Northern Ireland Assembly which has been recalled to debate the controversy, he said: "Let me make it clear that this British government and Sinn Fein scheme is and was wrong.
"Many people considered it had the impact in the Downey case of providing an effective amnesty."
Mr Robinson said the "secret letters" scheme exposed to the full glare of public attention a process that had been agreed well over a decade ago between Sinn Fein and the British government.
He said he believed only Sinn Fein was aware of an "administrative process and a provision of letters of comfort" to on-the-runs.
And in response to claims by Sinn Fein that the Democratic Unionist Party had "manufactured" a crisis, he told the Stormont assembly the "outrage" was "not synthetic".
"It was on outrage felt by victims, by those within the political process, that they had been bypassed by the British Government and Sinn Fein," he said.
Hyde Park bomb suspect John Downey In reference to Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement on Thursday of a judge-led inquiry into the arrangement, Mr Robinson said the full investigation could not be "a paper exercise".
He said it needed to "get at the truth of all that went on" in order to restore public confidence - which he said had been "seriously damaged by this murky deal".
Mr Robinson said the issue raised a number of fundamental issues which demanded answers.
"We want to find out who knew what and when about letters being made available to on-the-runs," he said.
"We want to know what happened in the Downey case, never happens again.
"We want to be sure that those who are the recipients of these letters cannot rely on them to avoid questioning or prosecution, or on the basis of information or evidence that is now or may later become available."
Mr Cameron has said the independent judge appointed to oversea the inquiry will have "full access to Government files and officials" and would report by May.
Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers Earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers conceded there was "grave concern" about the way the scheme, created by the previous government, was operated.
But she reiterated her pledge that the so-called "amnesty" letters would not prevent suspects from being "questioned or prosecuted".
She told Sky News: "The reason why the judge decided that the trial couldn't go ahead in John Downey's case is that he was sent a letter that was misleading.
"The letter said that police in Northern Ireland didn't believe that Mr Downey was wanted for offences in Northern Ireland or anywhere else in the UK. Unfortunately it turned out at the time that they knew he was wanted by the Metropolitan Police in relation to the Hyde Park bombing.
"It was that inaccuracy in the letter that went out which caused the problem with the trial.
"But the letters themselves do not confirm immunity and that is what I have made very clear."
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