Bereaved will judge legislation on Northern Ireland Troubles legacy, MPs told

By David Young, Abbie Llewelyn and Cillian Sherlock, PA

Families bereaved in the Troubles will ultimately be the judge of new legislation aimed at dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict, the UK parliament has been told.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn stressed the need to secure the backing of victims as he presented the Bill to the House of Commons on Tuesday.

The draft laws come after the UK government last month unveiled a joint framework agreed with the Government designed to address a long impasse on legacy issues.

The framework, and associated legislation published on Tuesday, represent the UK government’s attempt to fundamentally reform the mechanisms established in the 2023 Legacy Act.

Labour came to power with a pledge to replace and repeal the Legacy Act introduced by the Conservatives, which halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths and also included a contentious conditional offer of immunity for the perpetrators of Troubles crimes in exchange for cooperation with a truth recovery body.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will axe aspects of the 2023 Act.

Making a statement to the Commons, Mr Benn told MPs: “Given the views held by so many people, often diametrically opposed, it was always going to be impossible to set out a plan that gives everybody everything that they want.

“There will be elements of our approach that some people will welcome and others will not.

“Time waits for no one, least of all for the many families who lost loved ones, and they ultimately will be the judge of whether these new arrangements can give them the answers that they have sought for so long.”

The joint UK-Irish framework included commitments to:

– Significantly restructure the Legacy Act’s investigative and truth recovery body – the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

It will be renamed the Legacy Commission.

– Lift the Legacy Act’s prohibition on Troubles-related civil cases in UK courts and inquests on conflict-linked deaths.

Nine inquests that were part heard before the legal guillotine halted them will resume.

Other inquests will be referred to the Solicitor General to independently consider whether they are most appropriately dealt with by the reformed Legacy Commission or via the coronial system.

– Establish a separate truth recovery mechanism called the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval.

– Reform disclosure processes to address concerns over a veto power held by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State on what sensitive information can be accessed by legacy bodies.

– Pass legislation in the Irish parliament to ensure the state’s “fullest possible” cooperation with the new Legacy Commission.

– Create a new dedicated Legacy Unit within An Garda Siochana.

– Ring-fence 25 million euro of Irish government funding to support victims and survivors in participating and engaging with legacy bodies.

The Bill presented on Tuesday covers the measures in the framework that require legislative action in the UK.

The draft legislation also contains measures designed in response to concerns raised by military veterans about previous legacy processes.

These protections, which are not part of the joint framework, include provisions for witnesses to give evidence remotely without travelling to Northern Ireland.

The Bill also includes provisions designed to stop former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams from seeking compensation for a period a detention without trial in the early 1970s.

The legislation has moved to block potential payouts to internees like Mr Adams whose detention without trial during the conflict has since been ruled to have been unlawful on a legal technicality.

The UK government has also introduced a draft remedial order to remove from statute the Legacy Act’s immunity provisions.

Commenting on the measures, Mr Benn said: “The purpose of all this is to help families who have waited too long to find answers about what happened to their loved ones during the Troubles.

“This is our opportunity to deliver on this final part of the Good Friday Agreement and help Northern Ireland politics and broader society to find those answers and move forward.”

The Legacy Act was opposed by victims’ groups and political parties in Northern Ireland, and it led the Irish government to launch an interstate legal case against the UK, claiming it breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Speaking to reporters in Co Meath on Tuesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the Government would “revisit” the interstate case after the framework is “faithfully translated into legislation” in the UK.

“I think that’s the sensible and prudent thing to do,” he said.

“We never wanted to be in a position where we to take our nearest neighbour to an international court.

“I’m pleased to say we’re now in a much better place, where the two governments together acting as go-guarantors on really tricky, painful, difficult issues from the past.”

Mr Harris also said the Government should be in a position to move forward its own legislation on legacy in 2026, once the UK government passes its own laws on the matter.