Northern Ireland Legacy Bill: No reason for killers to engage - and no penalties if they refuse, says DUP MP Gavin Robinson

He told minister Conor Burns in the Commons tonight that the government turned down an opportunity last Wednesday to increase the fine for non-engagement with the proposed legacy processes from “three days of the minister’s wages, to something more substantive and meaningful”. He added: “He knows there is no encouragement or inducement to engage in this process. He knows that there is no consequence for lying as a result of this process. He knows that even if somebody stays outside this process and is prosecuted, then the sentencing regime will be reduced from two years in prison to zero years in prison.

“And yet on each and every one of those points there is an amendment that the Government can engage with and make sure this process works and yet still the Government are against it. Why?”

Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns replied: “The amendment on the fine for non-engagement, he is correct, was on the order paper last week. The question of where we are on sentencing, these are things that are… I think I’m allowed to go this far, that are up to conversation internally that we are looking at.”

Mr Robinson said that if a prosecutor hasn’t made a decision on a Troubles legacy prosecution prior to this law being enacted, “then those prosecutions will not proceed” and that has caused huge concern amongst families who have engaged with legacy probe Operation Kenova and the more than 30 live files that rest with the Public Prosecution Service.

“There is an amendment on the table tonight that would allow the Government to accept that those cases that are with the Public Prosecution Service could proceed irrespective of when that decision is taken.“Can he confirm that he wants to see a conclusion to the Operation Kenova process? And that he wants to see justice for those families that have engaged so honourably and thoughtfully?”

Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns said the decisions were “finely balanced and difficult” but that the government wants to see a single legacy body dealing with the cases, so “there has to be, at some point, a date at which we stop other processes and we roll everything into this body.”

Mr Burns said repeatedly that intelligence files and other files would be made available to help write a history of the troubles. But the DUP warned that this would be unbalanced as no terrorist files would be opened.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said: “Within this Bill we have the seeds of a narrative about the Troubles which will be unbalanced. The Bill makes it clear the range of public bodies and government bodies which will be given directives to reveal information. There is not the equivalent on the terrorist side.”

The DUP proposed an amendment - rejected by government - which would forbid anyone granted immunty for cooperating with legacy bodies from then writing books or giving talks glorifying their part in terrorism. DUP MP Carla Lockhart said it was tabled “because we desire a society where glorification of terrorism is not seen as normal, that those who planted bombs and killed men and women and children are not venerated as some kind of heroes in our society”.