‘Labour would stop NI Troubles bill that does more for perpetrators than victims’

Among the raft of contentious legislation the Tories are trying to push through parliament in the run-up to recess, don’t overlook the Northern Ireland legacy bill, which is back in the Commons today.

Introduced in May last year, this toxic bill is now on its third Northern Ireland secretary and its third prime minister.

Ostensibly produced to address the legacy of the Troubles, the bill has achieved the remarkable feat of uniting in opposition all Northern Ireland’s main political parties, the Irish government, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and all victims’ groups.

Despite undergoing some amendments in the House of Lords, it remains as unpopular as ever.

Labour has opposed the bill from the outset. Our position is that any legacy legislation must deliver more for victims of terror than perpetrators. The government’s bill does not pass this simple test.

In the Lords, Labour won an amendment removing the bill’s infamous immunity clause. This proposed clause would give immunity from prosecution to anyone who came forward to the new independent commission with information about crimes they committed during the Troubles.

On trips Keir and I have taken to Northern Ireland, we’ve spoken to victims who are horrified that their government would suggest something so fundamental without their consent. These measures are a radical departure from the previous Stormont House Agreement which had the agreement of local parties and the Irish Government.

Once the bill’s new independent commission is established, all other investigations, inquests and civil cases will be shut down. And after five years, the commission will close and wind up, with general immunity then provided to everyone. This is unacceptable to the very many families who lost loved ones during the Troubles, many of whom have fought for justice for decades.

Northern Ireland deserves a Westminster government that goes to every effort to tackle the challenges it faces, and that starts with getting Stormont back up and running. Nearly a year and a half since power sharing collapsed, the crisis in Northern Ireland’s public services has only deepened and it falls to unelected civil servants to make decisions about budget cuts in areas like education. The Tories continue to neglect Northern Ireland, and all its communities are paying the price.

It’s against this backdrop that Labour discovered, through questions to the Northern Ireland Office, that over 10% of the entire department’s staff are already working on the allegedly independent commission the legacy bill will set up.

Without doubt, the people of Northern Ireland would be best served by a government in Westminster that focused on rebuilding their institutions rather than ramming through a bill that will cause pain to all communities.

While the government made bold claims the bill would make it onto statute this month, that’s now all but impossible.

Reconciliation in Northern Ireland won’t be achieved by imposing proposals on Northern Ireland which all local parties and victims groups oppose. With summer recess just days away, we in the Labour party are urging the government to hit the brakes on this divisive and damaging bill and think again.