Irish Government court threat over legacy Bill 'contemptible': victims' group

Kenny Donaldson of SEFF made his comments after Irish premier Leo Varadkar said he will “give consideration” to taking the UK to an international court over the legislation being progressed through Westminster.

The NI Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is currently being considered by peers and both the Commons and Lords must come to an agreement on its wording before it can receive royal assent.

The proposed law would provide immunity for people accused of crimes during the Troubles, as long as they co-operate with a new truth recovery body. The Bill would also halt future civil cases and inquests linked to killings during the conflict.

States can lodge applications against each other in the European Court of Human Rights under article 33 of the ECHR.

Earlier this week, Mr Varadkar said the government would “give consideration to whether an interstate case is appropriate” in an attempt to prevent the NI Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill becoming law.

The Relatives for Justice (RFJ) group claimed the Irish government has a “moral” and a “legal” obligation to taken an interstate case if the bill becomes law.

Mr Donaldson said that while SEFF opposes the Bill in principle, the prospect of the Irish Government taking the UK to court is “contemptible” – when set against “the backdrop of his State offering next to nothing on legacy”.

Mr Donaldson said: “Extradition and security policies, connections with the initial arming and training of the Provisional IRA are amongst the areas they have failed to make account for.

“That must change, both the UK and Irish governments have wrongs to account for and the Irish Government’s arrogance in failing to offer something substantive is galling to many, including their own citizens, who were impacted by terror within the Republic of Ireland jurisdiction but who have been treated shamefully to date”.

Outling SEFF’s opposition to the Bill, Mr Donaldson said it is the “final jigsaw piece in murdering justice,” it will “have the impact of equating legitimate members of the security forces with terrorists,” and it will “not bring about reconcilliation”.

He also said SEFF has “not been convinced that it will hold accountable all protagonists responsible for the murders/deaths of the Troubles”.

In the Commons on Thursday, Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer told MPs that the Bill will have cleared all its stages by the summer recess in late July.

Speaking at Cabinet Office questions, Conservative MP Philip Hollobone asked: “What steps is the Cabinet Office taking to honour the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment to protect Northern Ireland veterans from vexatious litigation?”

Mr Mercer replied: “The Bill is continuing to go through the Lords, it will report back to this House and then it will become law by summer recess.

“We will have delivered on a manifesto commitment to make sure that we protect those who served us in Northern Ireland, who we are deeply proud of, from the vexatious nature of investigations and litigation whilst providing a better opportunity for all victims of that conflict to find out what happened and focus on reconciliation and the future.”