Overview

• Ministers introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in the Commons with a draft Remedial Order that begins repealing the 2023 Legacy Act and removes its conditional immunity scheme.
• The Bill establishes a reformed Legacy Commission with enhanced investigative and disclosure powers, provides for public hearings, and allows part‑heard inquests to resume with a referral process for other cases.
• An Independent Commission for Information Retrieval will be created with Ireland on a pilot basis, supported by new cross‑border information‑sharing arrangements set out in the joint framework.
• Veterans’ safeguards include a presumption for giving evidence remotely, limits on repeated investigations, a right to anonymity, and explicit consideration of elderly witnesses’ health.
• The package clarifies the Carltona principle to head off compensation claims linked to past internment orders, while drawing immediate opposition from senior military figures and Conservatives and proceeding alongside a Supreme Court appeal on wider legal issues.