Figures released by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) following a Freedom of Information request show that 53 royal prerogatives of mercy were issued in the period from 1987–97.

Amid a row over the so-called “On the Run” letters in 2014, the then-Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said that royal pardons were granted on 365 occasions between 1979–2002.

Ms Villiers had said at the time that she could not provide a figure from 1987–97 as the records could not be found by her office.

The NIO said in 2014 that most of the pardons were not linked to paramilitary cases and included various criminal offences.

In response to the FOI from The Irish News, it said: “The department has carried out further searches of files and has found a number of documents which provide the names of individuals who were granted the Royal Prerogative of Mercy between 1987 and 1997.

“An extensive search of our records in 2014 identified 53 cases where individuals were, or may have been, granted the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. However, please note that these may not be the complete records for that period.”