Government drops Troubles Legacy Act ruling appeal

The government has dropped its ongoing legal challenge against a court ruling which declared parts of the Troubles Legacy Act to be unlawful.

It centred on the most contentious aspect of the act which offered conditional immunity to suspects in exchange for information about Troubles-era crimes.

Government lawyers had argued in an appeal hearing last month to retain the immunity provision.

Judgement in that case was due in the autumn.

But now the new Labour government has abandoned that appeal in keeping with its pledge to scrap and replace the Troubles Legacy Act.

The move was confirmed in a written Westminster statement by Secretary of State Hilary Benn.

He said the government had written to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal to "formally abandon all its ground of appeal" against the provisions around immunity from prosecution.

"This is the first step in fulfilling the government's manifesto commitment to repeal and replace the act," he added.

He accused the previous Conservative government of ignoring the views of victims and survivors.

"The conditional immunity provisions in particular have been opposed by all of the Northern Ireland political parties and by many victims and survivors, as well as being found by the court to be unlawful," he said.

The secretary of state also confirmed plans to remove the "offending provisions from the statute book".

Mr Benn defended his decision to retain another key element of the act - the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

He said the courts had found the commission to be independent and capable of conducting human rights compliant investigations.

"I have confidence in Sir Declan [Morgan] and his team," Mr Benn told BBC News NI. "I think there are some ways in which we could strengthen its powers and its perceived independence."

But he added its success will be determined by its ability to deliver for victims.

In a statement on Monday, the ICRIR says the government's update has "provided clarity around the role of the Commission and the government's confidence in its ability to fulfil that role".

"The Commission welcomes the clarity for victims, survivors, and their families that the provisions of the Act that were in breach of the ECHR will be repealed," it continued.

The Commission said its focus "remains on delivering something of worth to those who come to us".

It said it will provide an update on its early work in September.

The statement also reaffirmed the government pledge to allow inquests which were previously halted to go ahead and allow for civil cases to be taken.

When asked by BBC News NI if new cases could be brought forward, Mr Benn said that will be decided after a consultation process.

He explained the "urgent priority is incomplete and halted inquests", which will be focused on "in the first instance".

The government will now begin a series of consultations to find the "best way forward" in dealing with Troubles-related deaths.

"I will be establishing a process of consultation with victims, families, and survivors, with political parties, with veterans, with the Irish government, about how we’re going to try and build a new consensus on dealing with these really difficult questions of legacy," Mr Benn told BBC News NI.

"Because the one thing that is very clear, the Legacy Act which the last government passed, has really no support in NI at all.

"If we can get something that has broader support than the Legacy Act… that would really represent a step forward."

But the government has not completely abandoned its wider appeal.

It has asked the court to rule on part of its legal challenge involving concerns around EU laws and the Windsor Framework.

It argued this part of the judgement "has potentially wide-ranging implications for other UK legislations which extends to Northern Ireland".