UK Government commits to Troubles legislation
It was confirmed during the Queens speech there is a plan to deal with the legacy of the past
Last updated 11th May 2021
The UK Government has insisted legislation on the legacy of the Troubles will be brought forward in “due course''.
It is after the Queens Speech today (Tuesday), which officially marked the reopening of Parliament, referred to addressing the “legacy of the past”.
In the speech Her Majesty said measures will also be brought forward to “strengthen devolved government in Northern Ireland”.
Accompanying Government papers to the Queen's Speech said the new legislation will be set out in the coming weeks.
The document said: “It is clear that the current system for dealing with the legacy of the past is not working well for anybody, with criminal investigations increasingly unlikely to deliver successful criminal justice outcomes and failing to obtain answers for the majority of victims and families.
“The Government will introduce a legacy package that delivers better outcomes for victims, survivors and veterans, focuses on information recovery and reconciliation, and ends the cycle of investigations.''
However, Downing Street would not guarantee that legislation would be in place within the next 12 months.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: “We want to do this promptly and we also want to make sure this is done properly.
“We have listened to a wide range of stakeholders since last March and we've also engaged substantially with the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland parties on this issue and we will bring forward legislation in due course.''
The proposed new system is expected to focus on “information recovery and reconciliation'' rather than criminal prosecutions which are unlikely to succeed.
Politicians from across the island of Ireland have voiced anger at the prospect of a form of amnesty on Troubles prosecutions.
Northern Ireland's two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, both criticised the move reported last week by the UK Government to introduce a statute of limitations on prosecuting offences committed prior to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.
Johnny Mercer, a former army officer and veterans minister, said he had been “personally promised'' there would be legislation on a number of occasions, but it was never delivered – “Hence I resigned.
“My successor promised it would be in the Queen's Speech. It is not.
“At some stage, we must fulfil our promises to our veterans.''
Mr Mercer said “an ambition'' in the Queen's Speech “is not legislation'' and “doesn't change anything''.
The leader of the SDLP, Colum Eastwood asked “how can people be told by a democratic government that they're not entitled to pursue truth and justice.''
Speaking in the Commons he said: “Will this Prime Minister now finally apologise for what those British forces did by murdering ten entirely innocent people, or will he continue to pursue an amnesty for their killers? That's the question.''
“I understand that people in this House today have said we need to move on, I understand that, there's nobody more wanting to move on than the victims of our difficult past.”
He described the sentiment as “well meaning, but it is absolutely and totally naive'' and added: We have tried to move on since 1998, by not dealing with the issues of the past, where are we today?
“We're mired in the past how can people be told by a democratic government that they're not entitled to pursue truth and justice?''
The row over the Queen's Speech came as a coroner recorded that 10 people killed in West Belfast 50 years ago in disputed shootings involving British soldiers were “entirely innocent''.
The Army was found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths in August 1971, which included a mother-of-eight and a Catholic priest.
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