Irish legal action against British government over Legacy Act remains, says Harris
Taoiseach Simon Harris acknowledged there was discussion around the Legacy Act during his bilateral meeting with British prime minister Keir Starmer during the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said legal action against the UK government over the controversial Legacy Act remains, despite moves by the Labour administration to repeal parts of the law.
Speaking at the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh, Mr Harris said that Ireland did not want to find itself in the position of taking legal action.
“That was never our starting point. In fact, there couldn’t have been anything further away from that starting point,” Mr Harris said.
The bill has been widely condemned across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland, after it halted numerous civil cases and inquests into deaths during the Troubles.
The legislation also established a new agency, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which the UK Government intends to retain but introduce reforms to.
It also offered conditional immunity to suspects, however this has since been disapplied by the UK Government.
The Taoiseach said that moves by Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to begin repealing some sections of the Legacy Act were to be welcomed.
However, Mr Harris confirmed that the legal action will remain in place. He added:
Mr Harris acknowledged that there was discussion around the Legacy Act during his bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
However, Mr Harris said that more work is needed from the UK Government on the matter, including ensuring that any processes are made human rights compliant.
“Secondly, and as importantly, making sure that any process has the full confidence of victims, survivors and their families.
“Clearly, there’s a lot of work to do in relation to that.”
Victims groups have called for the total scrapping of the ICRIR, but Mr Benn has indicated that it will remain in place but will be reformed to ensure that it is human rights compliant.
The Taoiseach added that the Irish Government is “very eager” to work with its UK counterpart to get legacy legislation right.
“I hope we can get to a point there that legal action won’t be necessary,” he added.
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