Troubles bill to be discussed in Parliament

The government's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill is expected to be discussed in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

The bill seeks to deal with the unresolved legacy of the decades-long violent conflict.

The bill was first introduced to Parliament last year following agreement on a joint framework with the Irish government.

On Monday it was announced that the Attorney General must provide consent for any serious prosecutions related to the Troubles under changes to the planned legislation.

It is among a series of amendments the government has tabled for the legislation.

Labour seeks to replace the previous Conservative government's contentious 2023 Legacy Act, which introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to Troubles-era incidents.

The act's most controversial element - offering immunity from prosecution to suspects who cooperated with an information recovery body - was disapplied after being found by the courts to be unlawful.

Labour's bill involves a Legacy Commission to investigate Troubles-related killings, a separate information recovery body, and a dedicated legacy unit within An Garda Síochána (Irish police).

The Northern Ireland Veterans' Commissioner David Johnstone said it is "too early to say in detail" about whether he is pleased about the amendments.

"We are going to take our time, we need to take some legal input, we need to consult with veterans. We are not going to have a knee jerk reaction, I don't think anyone's going to be dancing in the streets over the amendments," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

Johnstone said the Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant and the Ministry of Defence have listened to "some of the concerns".

He added that the bill needs to be amended so it is "fair and balanced" but he added that that is "unlikely".

Johnstone said the role of the Attorney General will be viewed by veterans as a "positive" as decisions on prosecutions will involve officials in Westminster, rather than in Northern Ireland.

Emmett McConomy, whose 11-year-old brother Stephen was shot dead by a soldier in Londonderry in 1982, said the planned changes feel like a "backwards step".

"This appears to be appeasement to the veterans. And with this legislation, where does the victim sit within this? What protections have we got?," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

The proposed role of the Attorney General, he added, is a "step too far".

"We have an Attorney General appointed by the British government possibly then looking at cases where the British Army has killed or murdered civilians here in Ireland.

"I don't hold much hope for that. It seems very much that they're checking their own homework," he said.

The process would be more transparent, McConomy added, if there "was someone independent from Britain within that set-up as well".

Speaking on Good Morning Ulster, Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey said legacy needs to be addressed.

"We do have families where that trauma, that pain is being passed onto the next generation because they don't have the answers, they haven't been able to seek justice."

But, she said the amendments will further knock the confidence of victims and survivors.

"Instead of bringing forward measures that would enhance confidence of victims, they have actually risked undermining investigations and importantly the equal application of the law," she said.

Hargey said the amendments insert political interference into the process, adding that the government controlling this would be "extremely concerning considering their key role in the conflict".

DUP leader Gavin Robinson expressed his concerns that the government had published these amendments before the parliamentary process concludes on Tuesday.

He said the 140 amendments "have to be considered, understood, [and] some coherency brought to them".

"I think it's unfair for veterans and for innocent victims across NI to even comprehend how each amendment interacts with the legislation," added Robinson.

He also believes it is good that Labour "will legislate to recognise that the actions of soldiers are not equivalent to the actions of terrorists who went out to destroy our country".

However, he said he was "deeply concerned" that the dates of the Legacy Commission will not be extended to include the Omagh bomb in 1998, where 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed.

A carry-over extension of the bill is happening on Tuesday and will be followed by a small debate.

It will then be voted on by MPs next week and if passed, it will move to the House of Lords for further consideration by peers.