Overview
- The Government’s legislation would repeal the Legacy Act’s conditional immunity, restart criminal investigations into Troubles-era deaths and restore civil claims.
- Ministers say the bill includes six safeguards for veterans and will stress there is no moral equivalence between lawful service personnel and paramilitaries.
- The plan establishes a new Legacy Commission to investigate deaths and a separate information-retrieval body whose accounts cannot be used as evidence in prosecutions.
- Nine retired four-star generals and veteran voices warn of ‘lawfare’, citing damage to morale, recruitment and national security, with the Daily Mail reporting resignations and fewer SAS applications.
- Amnesty International UK and the Centre for Military Justice urge the Prime Minister to reject any disapplication of the ECHR, noting a Belfast High Court ruling against de facto amnesties and highlighting victims’ rights to independent, lawful inquiries.