​Prison threat part of legacy act, court told

​Counsel for the UK government argued that the threat of serving full sentences in jail is an incentive for offenders to reveal the full truth about their conflict-related crimes in Northern Ireland.

Tony McGleenan KC said: “The sword of Damocles hangs over all those who participated in Troubles-related offences.”

Bereaved relatives and other victims are mounting a major legal challenge against the controversial new legislation.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act includes potential offers of immunity from prosecution in return for cooperation with a truth recovery body.

Perpetrators must provide a full account to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) headed up by Sir Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland.

Lawyers representing the victims claim that it will wrongly permit killers to escape punishment.

But setting out a detailed chronology of events surrounding the drafting of the bill and its ultimate passing into law, Mr McGleenan cited correspondence from Downing Street in early 2022, during Boris Johnson’s tenure as prime minister.

He stressed how the terms around any conditional amnesties had been “underwritten at the highest level”.

“The prime minister made it clear that immunity had to be earned, and that concept, looking at the act, is exactly what Parliament enshrined,” he said.

“This is a conditional system, immunity is earned by being truthful about your involvement in Troubles-related incidents.

“That truthfulness is incentivised by the prospect of prosecution remaining.”

The ICRIR panel assessing applications for immunity will be able to access other relevant information held by government bodies, the court heard.

If the commission ultimately decides the perpetrator is not being fully candid it has the power to refer them to the director of public prosecutions.

The case continues.