Rish Sunak confronts Leo Varadkar over Ireland's legacy legal case against the UK

Laws enacted by the UK government strive to provide a limited form of immunity to those accused of Troubles-related offences.

The prime minister, in a conversation with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, confronted Dublin over its own response to pursuing those responsible for sectarian violence that marred Ireland and Northern Ireland for decades.

The call between the pair comes after Mr Varadkar in December announced that his administration would be legally challenge the UK government over the legacy act in the European Court of Human Rights. He said at the time that the “strong” legal advice was the act breached the United Nations’ Convention on Human Rights.

The News Letter understands that there is a feeling in Downing Street that Ireland launched the legal action and that it seems to have expected there to be no consequences for relations with the UK, because it does not respond in meetings in which London complains about the action. There is also a strong feeling within government that Ireland is guilty of hypocrisy, in light of its own apparent lack of inclination to pursue even terrorists who boast about their past.

In 2021 the former Irish justice minister Michael McDowell said that the Irish government he was in decided that legacy investigations and prosecution by An Garda Síochána were “no longer warranted or justified by reason of the greater interest”.

Downing Street confirmed Mr Sunak raised the legal action during his conversation with Mr Varadkar.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The leaders addressed the Irish government’s launching of an interstate case on the UK government’s Legacy Act.

“The prime minister expressed his disappointment at the timing and course of action in December, coming at such a sensitive time.

“He noted that the Irish government had yet to respond to important questions about its own approach to legacy issues, including with regard to investigations into the 1998 Omagh bombing.

“The UK government would continue to pursue answers to those questions which had been laid out by the Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris), including with regard to the lack of criminal prosecutions in Ireland.”

A spokeswoman for the prime minister denied that the conversation had been terse. She said the Conservative Party leader had been “reiterating the government’s disappointment” that had previously been set out by Mr Heaton-Harris.

He wrote to Irish minister for foreign affairs Micheal Martin earlier this month questioning Ireland’s opposition to the legacy act.

Aspects of the recently passed UK laws includes a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The move has faced strong criticism and is opposed by many victims’ groups in Northern Ireland and all the main Stormont parties – albeit often from markedly different perspectives.

In his letter to Mr Martin, the Northern Ireland secretary challenged Ireland to set out its own record on tackling legacy issues, pointing out that, while the UK has initiated a public inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bomb, the Irish government has not, despite a court ruling saying it should do likewise.

Mr Heaton-Harris also called on Mr Martin to list the number of prosecutions mounted in the Irish state since 1998 related to Troubles incidents.

The phone call with Mr Sunak and Mr Varadkar came after the DUP announced its return to Stormont. Mr Sunak briefed his Irish counterpart on the details of the deal that could see devolved government restored in Northern Ireland.

Asked whether the call had been difficult, Mr Sunak’s spokeswoman said: “No, it was a good call, positive. They both welcomed the step that we saw from the DUP last night.”