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The Troubles: Government to publish plan to end prosecutions

BBC A colour image of a bomb exploding in a street in Northern Ireland during the TroublesBBC
The proposed statute of limitations is opposed by political parties in Northern Ireland and victims' groups

The government plans to publish proposals on how to deal with Troubles legacy issues on Wednesday.

The Secretary of State Brandon Lewis is scheduled to make a statement in Parliament.

It is believed it will involve a statute of limitations ending all prosecutions related to the Northern Ireland Troubles prior to 1998.

It would apply to former members of the security forces as well as ex-paramilitaries.

The Irish government, the five main political parties and victims' groups all oppose the idea, which some have described as a de-facto amnesty.

The government wants to pass the required legislation in the autumn.

Recently, it announced it would be holding "short and focused" talks on the legacy issue.

But it is understood there has only been one meeting involving party leaders so far.

Some parties are worried the government has already determined the outcome.

Sinn Féin has raised concerns that the government is also considering steps to end Troubles-related inquests and civil cases.

The government has been under pressure from some backbench MPs to address the issue of prosecutions against army veterans and it gave a manifesto commitment to deal with it.