"People must be held to account for their actions under the rule of law and in the case of Mr Downey clearly a dreadful mistake was made by him receiving that letter".
Downey, from County Donegal, had been charged with the murders of four soldiers who died in the Hyde Park bomb in 1982, after his arrest at Gatwick airport last year.
"I agree with the first minister of Northern Ireland that after the terrible error of the Downey case it is right to get to the bottom of what happened.
His review is only into mistakes within the scheme and what happened in the Downey case, not the existence of the covert scheme.
Q: But you told us earlier that the Downey case was unique?
Matt Baggott says Downey was unique, in terms of him being wanted elsewhere (ie, in London, not Northern Ireland).
Pens Hodgson 6. Northampton Diggin; Artemyev, Pisi, Downey (May, 75), Armstrong; Myler (Lamb, 75) Roberts; Tonga'Uiha (Waller, 68), Long (McMillan, 75), Doran-Jones (Mercey, 68), Manoa, Day (Sorenson, 75), Dowson (Wood, 57), Clark (capt), Wilson.
The emergence of the letter assuring Downey he was no longer wanted caused his trial to collapse at the Old Bailey in London on Tuesday.
"The MoD failed to exercise good communication, negotiation, flexibility and respect for the communities where the leisure assets are located," Downey complained.
In the Downey case, there was a procedural mistake.
The judge's decision to free Downey at the Old Bailey on Tuesday has resulted in the most dangerous political destabilisation at Stormont since devolution was restored in 2007.
