Legacy Act: Hilary Benn begins process of repealing Troubles legislation

Northern Ireland's Secretary of State has taken initial steps to formally repealing the controversial legislation drawn up to address the legacy of the Troubles.

The Northern Ireland Legacy and Reconciliation Act 2023, introduced by the previous Conservative Government, resulted in stopping scores of civil cases and inquests into deaths during the Troubles.

Labour had pledged to repeal and replace the Act, which had been opposed by victims' groups, if they won the General Election.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Hilary Benn announced measures to progress the cases - and said "too many families" have had to "wait too long to find out what happened to their loved ones."

Mr Benn described the previous administration's approach to legacy matters as "wrong" and said aspects of the legislation were found by the courts to be incompatible with obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

He said the Government was committed to repealing and replacing the legislation, adding in the Commons: "I am today laying a remedial order under the Human Rights Act to take the first steps to honour that commitment.

"This order will remedy all of the human rights deficiencies in the Act identified by the Northern Ireland High Court in February in the case of Dillon and others and one issue from the Court of Appeal judgment in September.

"Specifically, the order will - if adopted by Parliament - remove all provisions from the Act relating to the immunity scheme which, let it not be forgotten, would have enabled any of those who perpetrated the most appalling terrorist crimes to seek immunity from prosecution from the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR)."

Mr Benn said the order will also enable all civil proceedings that were prohibited by the legacy Act, including future cases, to proceed.

He explained: "This means individuals will once again be able to bring Troubles-related cases to the civil courts, a basic right denied them by the legacy Act."

Conservative shadow Northern Ireland secretary Alex Burghart told MPs, Labour has a "mandate" to change legacy legislation, but urged ministers to "spare a thought" for veterans who may feel a sense of "dread".

Mr Burghart told the Commons: "The Labour Party won a general election on a manifesto which included a number of measures which the Secretary of State has just discussed and it has a mandate to make the changes it wants to make.

"But I will say this: there was an attempt by the last government, a desire by the last government to draw a line under many difficult things that have happened and with the actions that the Government is now taking, that line is being erased.

"I'll remind the House of the central reasons that the last government legislated for - it did so to try and protect some elderly people including servicemen who were being brought before inquests to discuss events that may or may not have happened very many years before."

The shadow Northern Ireland secretary added: "Tonight, there will be many such men harbouring a sense of dread, and I know the Government is taking a different approach, but I do ask them to spare a thought for those men this evening and to think very deeply about what it can do to support them."

Meanwhile, Mr Benn said he will introduce primary legislation when parliamentary time allows to implement the Government's promise to restore inquests, staring with those previously halted by the Act.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has said the announcement by the British Secretary of State falls short of Labour manifesto commitment to ‘repeal and replace’ Legacy Act.

The North Belfast MP said: “The Labour Party made a manifesto commitment to ‘repeal and replace’ the Legacy Act ‘by returning to the principles of the Stormont House Agreement’, this announcement falls far short of that.

“Instead, the British Secretary of State has focused on reforming the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) which has been rejected by victims and families and the political parties.

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has welcomed the remedial order on legacy and called on the UK Government to provide a more comprehensive package.

Commenting on today's statement by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Claire Hanna MP said:

“The SDLP welcomes today’s statement, specifically the removal of the immunity scheme, the reinstatement of civil cases and the restoration of those legacy inquests halted. The Labour Government committed to these changes before the election and we welcome them keeping their word.

“However, many challenges remain concerning the ability of the ICRIR to be made Article 2 compliant, the independence of its appointments, ICRIR oversight and the removal of the national security veto to allow full disclosure to victims and their families.

“The Secretary of State reportedly is engaging with victims and survivors. I believe that he will hear from them that Stormont House is the best and most comprehensive answer to these questions.

“Failing to deal with the past properly limits our ability to have a different and shared future.”

Amnesty International has responded to the Northern Ireland Secretary of State’s Ministerial statement on Legacy.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UK’s Deputy Director in Northern Ireland, said:

“The statement and actions being taken by the Secretary of State don’t go far enough and will once again mean that victims are left wanting.

“The Court of Appeal offered a clear course of remedial action, which included inquests being restored for all those entitled to them.

“It’s deeply worrying that instead of the immediate restoration of inquests, we’re seeing further delays to this legacy mechanism which had been delivering truth to victims.

“An unfixed future date for primary legislation along with an appeal to the Supreme Court is not the swift action needed to undo the harm caused by the last government and only adds to the burden on victims.

“Hilary Benn’s announcement on civil claims is welcome and necessary following the decisions by the courts - along with addressing other provisions of the Legacy Act found by the Belfast High Court to be incompatible with human rights - but there is no escaping the reality of political decisions that mean the remedial order will not address all it could and should. Families waiting for inquests will rightly be concerned.

“We’ll continue to engage with all relevant parties to ensure a human rights compliant legal framework and mechanisms that can deliver for victims and have their confidence.”

Martina Dillon, whose husband Seamus Dillon was shot and killed in 1997 and is among the lead case of victims who took a legal challenge to the Troubles Act, said:

“The statement is a lot of spin. The Secretary of State said he would give us our inquests, so why is he not doing that now when the Court of Appeal has provided for it. The Secretary of State is wrong not to bring back inquests at the first opportunity. All I want is the answers I’m entitled to; I deserve the truth. The UK government is telling us we’re getting our inquests back, but their actions don’t reflect that. My message to the Secretary of State is that we’ve waited long enough, everyone entitled to an inquest should have one.

“The decision to appeal to the Supreme Court is concerning but we will continue to fight. We’ve won in the courts before, and we’ll do it again.”