UK minister says Troubles legacy Bill to ‘become law’ by July

Controversial legislation aimed at addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles is expected to become law next month, the UK Government has said.

Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer told MPs that the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill will have cleared all its stages by the summer recess.

The House of Commons will stop for the summer at the end of business on July 20, with the House of Lords rising on July 26.

The Bill is currently being considered by peers and both Houses must come to an agreement on its wording before it can receive royal assent.

The proposed law would provide immunity for people accused of crimes during the Troubles, as long as they co-operate with a new truth recovery body, known as the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The Bill would also halt future civil cases and inquests linked to killings during the conflict.

Despite the Government introducing a string of amendments to the draft legislation, it remains widely opposed by political parties, the Irish Government and victims’ groups.

Speaking at Cabinet Office questions, Conservative MP Philip Hollobone (Kettering) asked: “What steps is the Cabinet Office taking to honour the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment to protect Northern Ireland veterans from vexatious litigation?”

Mr Mercer replied: “We’re nearly at the summit of this mountain.

“The Bill is continuing to go through the Lords, it will report back to this House and then it will become law by summer recess.

“We will have delivered on a manifesto commitment to make sure that we protect those who served us in Northern Ireland, who we are deeply proud of, from the vexatious nature of investigations and litigation whilst providing a better opportunity for all victims of that conflict to find out what happened and focus on reconciliation and the future.”

The Bill will continue its report stage in the Lords on Monday June 26 and it will see peers consider further possible amendments.

Its third reading is scheduled for July 4, which will pave the way for it to return to the Commons for a further assessment of the changes made.

On Wednesday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to scrap the Bill.

Sir Jeffrey said that an “amnesty for terrorists is not only an affront to justice but a gateway to further attempts to rewrite and airbrush the past”.

In the Lords, former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Murphy of Torfaen proposed an amendment to scrap the immunity provision.

While comparisons had been made between the immunity measure and the early release of prisoners under the 1998 peace deal, Labour’s Lord Murphy said the “big difference” was the latter move had the backing of a referendum at the time.

He said: “No-one in Northern Ireland is voting in favour of this. There is no consensus in its favour.

“The minister knows you simply cannot impose things on Northern Ireland. Imposition is entirely improper.”