Effective protections for military veterans and a reformed Legacy Commission have been pledged in the Government’s Troubles Bill to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past.
The proposed legislation, which will replace the previous government’s controversial Legacy Act, will also see a limited number of legacy inquests restored.
The Bill is considered by the Government to be needed because the Legacy Act was “flawed and left our veterans without any lawful protection and exposed to a legal Wild West”.
The Bill proposes “effective protections” for veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, including ensuring they are “treated with dignity and respect” when approached for information.
But Grainne Teggart, Northern Ireland deputy director at Amnesty International UK, said the claim that veterans were facing a “so-called ‘legal wild west’ dangerously distorts reality”.
“There is no witch hunt against former soldiers,” she said.
She said the Government’s priority “should be urgently delivering legislation and effective investigations that victims can genuinely have confidence in”.
The Bil is proposed that cold calls to veterans be stopped, as well as requests for veterans to travel to Northern Ireland to give evidence. There is also a pledge for “no needless duplication of previous investigations”.
The Bill is described as providing “effective protections for veterans”, as well as enabling bereaved families, including of service personnel, to get answers about what happened to their loved ones.
This is to be supported by the “fullest possible disclosure” from the Republic of Ireland authorities for investigations conducted by the Legacy Commission.
It was also pledged that “nobody receives immunity for terrorist crimes”, and the “strongest safeguards for veterans and all who served to bring about peace” will be put in place.
The 2023 Legacy Act halted scores of court cases, including of inquests, concerning incidents from the Troubles, with a view to transferring those to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). Conditional immunity had been proposed for the perpetrators of some Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with the ICRIR.
Parts of the Act were found to be incompatible with human rights, and also undermined the rights of victims in breach of the Windsor Framework, which was signed following the UK leaving the EU.
The Troubles Act will see a reformed Legacy Commission, reconstituted from the ICRIR, aimed to inspire the confidence of victims and families.
It will have the powers to investigate and fact-find for families affected by the Troubles across the UK, and will have new governance arrangements as well as a statutory victims and survivors advisory group and new conflict of interest duties.
The Bill also proposes an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) jointly with the Irish Government, described as “consistent with the Stormont House Agreement”. It is to operate, initially on a pilot basis, to provide families with an additional means to retrieve information. Any information disclosed by individuals to the ICIR is to be inadmissible in criminal and civil proceedings.
In a statement, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the Government is “committed to delivering the Troubles Bill to address the legacy of that terrible period of our history”.
“It is the only viable way to generate confidence across communities, enable information sharing by the Irish authorities, and put in place safeguards for our former service personnel,” he said.
“This final chance to get legacy right has fallen to us in this Parliament, and we will deliver it.”
Responding to the proposals, Ms Teggart said: “Despite decades of conflict and thousands of deaths, since the Good Friday Agreement, only one former soldier has ever been convicted for a Troubles-related offence.
“It is deeply disturbing that some continue to portray veterans accused of breaking the law as the real victims in this process who need protection, while bereaved families who lost loved ones continue to battle for the most basic truth and accountability decades later. That turns reality on its head.
“All victims, irrespective of who the perpetrator was, deserve answers. The Government’s priority should be urgently delivering legislation and effective investigations that victims can genuinely have confidence in. That must mean an end to secrecy, delay and obstruction.”
