You must get Troubles Bill right, Sinn Féin warns Bryant

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has been urged to get new legislation to deal with the legacy of the region’s past right.

A number of the Stormont parties are meeting with Sir Chris on Thursday while work on amendments to the Labour Government’s Troubles Bill is ongoing.

It comes after the previous government’s Legacy Act was widely criticised for halting scores of court processes, including inquests into deaths during the Troubles.

Concerns have been voiced by some that military veterans could potentially receive legal protection in the Bill.

Sinn Féin was the first delegation to meet Sir Chris, represented by North Belfast MP John Finucane and South Belfast MLA Deirdre Hargey.

After the meeting, Mr Finucane said they expect the publication of the latest amendments to the Bill by mid-October.

Speaking outside the Northern Ireland Office at Erskine House in Belfast, he said: “The Labour Government’s proposals on legacy have been sitting in abeyance for some time.

“We have made our concerns very clear for many years, but particularly on this piece of legislation, that the longer there is delay the longer the process of hurt is compounded for families who, in some cases, have been waiting decades to get truth and justice around the circumstances of what happened to their loved ones.

“This legislation must be for everybody, irrespective of the source of the loss that was visited upon them. This has to command the confidence of people right across society, not just here but right across these islands.”

Addressing criticism by some of “vexatious prosecutions” and “witch hunts” of British Army veterans, Mr Finucane said they emphasised to Sir Chris that a “partial approach to legacy will not command the confidence of those people he is asking to invest in the new process”.

The MP added: “We expect the full publication of the amendments within the next few weeks, I would say around the mid-October mark.

“Once we get full sight of the actual detail of all the amendments we will be able to make our full consideration and judgment.

“But this was another useful exercise from our point of view, and on behalf of those we talk to, to impress upon the Secretary of State that it’s important that he gets this right.”

Alliance deputy leader Eóin Tennyson described “drinking in the last chance saloon” in terms of dealing with the legacy of the past.

“Families have waited too long and have been let down by successive governments, for our part, we have always said that we want a legacy process that is comprehensive, that can command confidence among victims and survivors who have to be our priority in all of this,” he said.

“We stressed to the Secretary of State the need now to move at pace, get legacy legislation over the line and move in lock step with the Irish Government.”

UUP leader Jon Burrows said his party pressed for fairness for veterans, retired police officers and “innocent victims”.

“There is never an equivalence between those who went out to protect and serve, and those who went out to maim and murder,” he said.

“We listened to the Secretary of State about the planned changes to the Troubles Bill, which sound quite extensive. It is clear from what he has said that many of the representations we have made, he indicates they have listened to, but the proof will be in the pudding.

“We’re not going to see these amendments until October 12, a week before the debate. I think that is a mistake.

“We also pressed on the role of the Irish government who still fail to co-operate with the ICRIR. They have a long record of not doing their business right on legacy, and we pressed the Secretary of State to press them to provide the evidence that we need to get justice, but also fair treatment for our veterans.”

The DUP is set to meet Sir Chris over legacy next week.

In a video posted on social media on Thursday evening, Sir Chris confirmed the Bill will return to the House of Commons in October.

“We’re going to be tabling some amendments to make sure that that Bill is in really good nick by the time it gets on to the statute book,” he said.

“I want to make sure that families can really get the answers that they want, including the families of veterans.

“That’s why I have been talking to all the political parties here in Northern Ireland today, and will be doing so over the next few weeks, on top of all the conversations I have already had with families, victims themselves, with survivors, with people who have lost loved ones, including those who worked in the security forces here in Northern Ireland as well.

“We really need to get this Bill right, we need to make sure that families can get the answers that they want.

“Twenty-eight years after the Good Friday Agreement, it’s fulfilling that promise that peace needs reconciliation and answers.”