Adams accuses UK government of ‘duplicity’ over move to block compensation payout

By David Young, PA

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has accused the UK government of “hypocrisy and duplicity” after it proposed a retrospective law change to block him from securing compensation for being interned during the Troubles.

Mr Adams was responding to a measure outlined in the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which was presented to Parliament on Tuesday, that will seek to prevent him and others detained without trial from seeking payouts based on a judicial decision that ruled their internment unlawful on a legal technicality.

The veteran republican said he would be consulting with lawyers to explore what legal options there are, both in the UK and Europe, to challenge the move.

Mr Adams highlighted that the measure was included in a Bill that also introduced new “protections” designed to address concerns of military veterans who are asked to engage in legacy mechanisms in Northern Ireland.

The measures include the option of witnesses giving evidence remotely.

“In 2020 the British Supreme Court determined that I was wrongfully interned for a period in the 1970s,” said Mr Adams.

“The decision by the court was explicit.

“Interim Custody Orders not authorised and approved by the Secretary of State were illegal.

“It is believed that upwards of 400 other internees are similarly affected.

“The British government, which knew it was in the wrong at that time, knowingly broke its own law.

“In January Keir Starmer made it clear that he would look at ‘every conceivable way’ to ensure that I and others impacted by this did not receive compensation.

“Today, at the stroke of a pen what was illegal five decades ago has been made legal as the British state changes the rules to suit its own agenda and protect its own military personnel.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn had already signalled the Government’s intent to ensure the draft legislation acted on the issue of potential compensation to internees whose detention without trial during the conflict has since been ruled to have been unlawful.

A Supreme Court judgment in 2020 paved the way for Mr Adams to secure compensation over his internment in the early 1970s.

Mr Adams won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.

The Supreme Court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw.

At the time of the case, the previous government contended that the ICOs were lawful because of a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the secretary of state.

Mr Adams subsequently successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.

However, the 2023 Legacy Act introduced by the last Conservative government stopped such payouts to Mr Adams and other former internees.

The Act retrospectively validated the ICOs to make them lawful and halted civil claims related to the orders.

However, in February last year, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the provisions of the Act related to the ICOs were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Labour Government did not appeal against that section of the High Court judgment but Mr Benn pledged to find a lawful means to block payouts.

The Troubles Bill has now proposed to reaffirm the so-called Carltona principle into law, a move the Government believes will prevent payouts.

While the Legacy Act’s provisions in relation to ICOs, sections 46 and 47, were ruled incompatible with ECHR by the High Court, the Government is retaining those sections on the statute book until such time as the Troubles Bill becomes law.

The Bill gives legislative effect to several measures contained in a joint framework for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles recently agreed by the UK and Irish governments.

The measures designed for veterans engaging in legacy processes are not contained in the UK-Irish framework.

However, Mr Adams accused the Irish government of colluding with the UK on the issue, something he branded as “disgraceful”, as he said Ireland had signed up to laws he claimed would protect former soldiers who had been involved in atrocities during the Troubles.

He added: “The British want to close the door on their past actions.

“Like many others I will be speaking to my legal team in the next few days to examine what options here and within Europe are open to us.”