People in Northern Ireland ‘will breathe a sigh of relief’ at Gerry Adams compensation block

The House of Lords has passed several amendments to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) that would prevent a number of former republican prisoners, including former Sinn Fein President GerryAdams, seeking compensation over internment without trial in the 1970s.

The Government has said that up to 400 compensation claims could be taken as a result of a Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that certain detentions were unlawful, due to what ministers have branded “a technicality”.

In order to stop these claims in their tracks, legal clarification is being put into statute that would retrospectively validate these so-called interim custody orders.

Former DUP deputy leader Lord Dodds of Duncairn told peers: “People in Northern Ireland will breathe a sigh of relief right across all communities and all parties, except Sinn Fein of course, at the prospect that the godfather of terrorism over many decades, Gerry Adams, will not, on a technicality, be able to benefit from the largess of the British taxpayer when so many widows and families, thousands, that he and his organisation caused such suffering to, many of whom have struggled with very little compensation or recompense for many, many years.

“That injustice is going to be put right in this House and in this Parliament and that will be warmly welcomed by those who really believe in true justice.”

Mr Adams has always denied being a member of the IRA.

The amendments come after Mr Adams won an appeal over historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned without trial in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison.

The Supreme Court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw.

This is despite a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the Secretary of State.

Northern Ireland Office minister Lord Caine said the amendments were brought in due to “widespread concerns” over the decision.

He said: “It has always been the Government’s understanding that interim custody orders made by ministers of the crown under powers conferred upon the Secretary of State were perfectly valid.

“In order to restore clarity around the legal position and ensure no one is inappropriately advantaged by a different interpretation of the law, on a technicality, I have tabled amendments that retrospectively validate all interim custody orders [made under relevant legislation].

“This has the effect of confirming that a person’s detention under an interim custody order was not unlawful simply because it had been made by a junior minister, rather than the Secretary of State personally, as was always the understanding of successive governments.”

The amendments prohibit civil cases, applications for compensation as a result of miscarriages of justice and appeals against conviction which rely on the 2020 ruling from being brought or continued.

The legacy Bill will now be sent back to the House of Commons for consideration in a process known as parliamentary ping-pong after peers stripped away a core part of the legislation.

Peers voted to remove a provision which would grant immunity for people accused of Troubles-related crimes if they cooperate with a new truth recovery body known as the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The Bill has been widely criticised by both republican and unionist parties in Northern Ireland, as well as victims groups and the Irish government.

As the amended Bill passed in the upper chamber, Lord Caine acknowledged that the legislation did not have consent from the Northern Ireland Assembly – due to them not currently sitting – or the Scottish Government.

He said: “We are therefore regrettably proceeding without consent as this legislation requires a UK-wide approach.

“As the Government, we must make difficult and realistic decisions about how we can best deliver for families in Northern Ireland and I can reassure you that the Government will continue to engage with all Northern Ireland parties and the Scottish Government in this manner.”