There is still little sign that the UK government is on top of legacy, and tackling concerns about a pro terrorist imbalance

Anyone who follows legacy closely, and fears there is a pro terror imbalance, should be concerned by remarks by Simon Hoare MP yesterday.

Mr Hoare is the Conservative chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC).

He said he was pleased that the government had not “pushed back” against the NIAC recommendations on legacy.

Mr Hoare has presided over a committee that in both in the last parliament, and in this one with a significantly altered membership, seemed not to grasp fully the concerns among victims, ex security forces and other opponents of terrorism as to what is happening on legacy.

The UK government last year finally recognised that direction of travel on legacy. They saw that legacy inquests, police ombudsman inquiries, the PSNI legacy investigations and a slew of civil actions were all disproportionately focused on allegations against state forces, and the mooted Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) was set to be so too.

This was because it would subsume hundreds of ombudsman probes into allegations against the RUC and, worse, have greater power to do so. It was also because criminal investigations into killings would often find more evidence on security forces, partly because they have records, than on terrorists, who don’t. Also partly because all the other inquiries into the state would produce evidence which could clog up HIU. The head of that body would also have discretionary powers over its focus.

Thus last March London, rightly, moved to scale down legacy entirely. But since then this newspaper has warned that the UK’s apologetic tone would lead to them being pressured back to a Stormont House Agreement type system, perhaps with an investigative body almost as unsatisfactory as HIU.

And so it seems they are doing, outwitted by the welter of voices who imply that all sides are to blame for the Troubles, a narrative with which terrorists are content.

There is still time for London to get this right, but there is no real sign that it is giving the legacy imbalance the urgent attention it needs.

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