Details are expected to be announced by the Secretary of State Peter Hain in the next fortnight.

Lord Eames and Denis Bradley - a former vice chairman of the Policing Board and once part of a secret link between the republican leadership and British Government - are expected to be part of a wider 'team'.

Within a pre-set time frame, the team will explore whether there is a consensus on how best to address the issue of the past.

"It will be a big conversation," a source with knowledge of the project told the Belfast Telegraph.

He said the group would have a "blank sheet" - there would be " no pre-determined outcomes".

"It is trying to find [if there is] a consensus. Is there a consensus out there on how best to take the past forward? It is as simple and as complex as that," the source added.

Existing public inquiries and other investigations into past killings will continue as the new study group carries out its consultation.

An informed source has told the Telegraph that Lord Eames and Denis Bradley will be part of that new group.

The move follows the restoration of the power-sharing Executive at Stormont and the republican endorsement of policing.

"You could not begin to do it properly in an atmosphere of instability," a source said - meaning that this new initiative on the past was always going to have to wait for the political and policing deal to be done.

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has been a cheerleader for such an initiative - saying "the hard questions" need to be asked of all sides involved in the conflict.