US politicians urge Sunak to drop planned Northern Ireland legacy legislation

A group of senior US politicians have urged British prime minister Rishi Sunak to drop proposed legislation for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles.

The group of nearly 30 US congressmen said in a letter on Friday that the measures would “undermine the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland”.

They wrote: “We write with grave concern over your government’s decision to continue advancing the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill which denies justice, suppresses the will of the people of Northern Ireland, and conceals the truth of the past.”

Earlier this week the British government announced amendments to the proposals contained in the legislation.

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Following the announcement, the Pat Finucane Centre, which supports victims and survivors of the Troubles, condemned the Bill as a breach of international human rights law.

The Bill, which is due to proceed to committee stage in the House of Lords shortly, will create a new truth recovery body – the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery – which will offer immunity from prosecution to perpetrators who co-operate with its inquiries.

The body will take over responsibility for all Troubles inquiries, and other avenues of criminal and civil investigation and inquests will be closed down.

The plans have been widely condemned, including by the North’s five main political parties, victims and human rights groups, the Irish Government, and other parties in Ireland and in Britain and internationally. The legislation is supported by veterans’ groups.

In the letter sent to the British prime minister, the group of US politicians, which includes both Democrat and Republican members, said they felt compelled to write “to voice our strong concern and disappointment with the continued momentum this piece of dangerous legislation maintains”.

The letter went on: “We believe this legislation would deny justice to thousands of families, across all communities in Northern Ireland, who were impacted by violence during the Troubles. We have conducted significant research into the matter, and we have listened to victims, victims’ relatives, human rights groups, political representatives in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and legal experts. The vast majority of these groups believe that implementing a statute of limitations on criminal cases, Ombudsman reports, inquests and civil actions, alongside legacy mechanisms without investigations by a Historical Investigations Unit, will prevent all genuine paths to justice – justice which is still being achieved.

“In fact, there are a number of outstanding cases remaining, many of which would be directly impacted by this decision. Those victims and their families, from all communities, still desire justice and, more importantly, they deserve justice. In November 2022, for example, an individual in Northern Ireland was held accountable for the 1988 murder of a 23-year-old on his way to a football match, a crime committed during the Troubles.

“This case is a testament to the continued and necessary judicial process that this Bill impedes. As such, we believe that for as long as outstanding evidence and potential criminal liability remains, avenues to justice must remain open.”

The US politicians urged Mr Sunak to “assess the impact of this legislation which directly and unilaterally impacts the peace and stability across the island of Ireland.

“We strongly urge you to return to values agreed upon in the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and ensure victims of violence from the Troubles receive justice and perpetrators of crimes committed during the Troubles are held accountable.”