DUP MP Jim Shannon at legacy bill: 'Our pain is still raw'

"Our pain is still here. Our pain is still raw."

DUP MP Jim Shannon has expressed his opposition to the government's legacy plan by saying there has been "no justice" for his family, more than half a century after his cousin's death.

As part of the debate, MPs voted to reinstate an amendment to the bill, previously removed at the House of Lords, that would offer the conditional amnesty.

The amnesty is one of the most controversial aspects of the bill, which is opposed by all of Northern Ireland's political parties, the Irish government and groups representing bereaved families and victims.

In an emotional address to the Commons, the Strangford MP said victims' relatives "can't see justice".

Mr Shannon's cousin, Kenneth Smyth, 28, an off-duty UDR soldier, was shot near Strabane, County Tyrone, while on his way to work in 1971.

18 July 2023