PRESS RELEASE : Government introduces amendments to NI Troubles legacy legislation [June 2023]

The press release issued by the Northern Ireland Office on 8 June 2023.

The UK Government has today formally tabled significant amendments to legislation seeking to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The move comes ahead of the Report Stage of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, scheduled to proceed in the House of Lords later this month.

The legislation aims to deliver better outcomes for all those most affected by the Troubles, while helping society to look forward.

The latest amendments seek to address a number of key concerns raised since the Bill’s introduction, including by victims and survivors.

They include:

• Allowing ongoing criminal investigations, inquests, the consideration of prosecution decisions, and the publication of reports, to continue until May 2024, ensuring a smooth transition between the ending of the current mechanisms and the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) taking on full responsibility for dealing with legacy cases.
• Placing the ICRIR under a new duty to offer victims and their families the opportunity to submit personal impact statements. These statements must be published if the person making the statement so wishes, subject to limited exceptions.
• Placing the ICRIR under a new duty requiring it to take reasonable steps to secure information relevant to the assessment of the truth of a person’s account as part of their application for immunity.
• The revocation of immunity if an individual is subsequently convicted of terrorism offences or offences connected to terrorism committed after immunity was granted .
• Expressly confirming that the Commissioner for Investigations, when exercising operational control over the conduct of reviews, must comply with obligations imposed by the Human Rights Act 1998.
• Placing a new duty on the ICRIR to publish a statement explaining how each review was conducted as part of its final report, thus enhancing the transparency of its work.
• Placing a duty on the ICRIR to produce guidance which is related to determining a request for immunity. This will replace a power which currently sits with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris MP, said:

“The Government has consistently stated that it would continue constructive dialogue in order to alleviate concerns and strengthen the Bill. That is why we have published a number of significant amendments that directly address a number of key concerns raised by interested parties.

“This includes amendments on the conduct of reviews, compliance with Convention Rights, the independence of the Commission, conditional immunity, and ongoing legal processes.

“We remain absolutely committed to making legislative progress so that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) can be established, and begin delivering better outcomes for those most affected by the Troubles, as swiftly as possible.”