{"id":22383,"date":"2021-07-14T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22383"},"modified":"2021-07-14T09:38:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T13:38:25","slug":"british-government-to-announce-plans-to-deal-with-legacy-of-the-troubles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22383","title":{"rendered":"British Government To Announce Plans To Deal With Legacy Of ‘The Troubles’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis (PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>The Northern Ireland Secretary will later announce a way forward on dealing with the legacy of the region\u2019s troubled past.<\/p>\n

The approach, to be outlined by Brandon Lewis in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, is expected to include a statute of limitations ending all prosecutions related to the Troubles before 1998.<\/p>\n

The approach has been slammed by political parties and victims groups as a \u201cde facto amnesty\u201d for both veterans and former paramilitaries.<\/p>\n

White-line picket protests took place last weekend against an amnesty.<\/p>\n

UK Government sources have rejected claims it would effectively amount to an amnesty.<\/p>\n

The plan is expected to include legislation which the UK Government wants to be passed by Parliament in the autumn.<\/p>\n

More than 3,500 people died during the conflict, which stretched from the early 1970s to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, while tens of thousands more were left injured.<\/p>\n

Last month, Mr Lewis and Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney announced \u201cintensive engagement\u201d by the two governments on legacy.<\/p>\n

Families of victims, political parties and other stakeholders will be involved.<\/p>\n

Mr Lewis then said the process will \u201cbuild on and develop on the principle of the Stormont House Agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the Stormont House Agreement proposed a Historical Investigations Unit to examine unsolved murders during the Troubles and an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval for families to learn more about the fate of their loved ones.<\/p>\n

None of the proposals were implemented.<\/p>\n

Bereaved families have been seeking answers about what happened to their loved one by pursuing fresh inquests, while a number of cases are being examined by former Bedfordshire Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, Mr Coveney said the UK proposal to end prosecutions was not a \u201cfait accompli\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is UKG (UK Government) outlining its position,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIrish Government has very different view (Stormont House), as do Northern Ireland political parties and victims groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Northern Ireland Secretary and I have committed to an inclusive dialog to try to agree consensus and that\u2019s underway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s former Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan wrote on Twitter: \u201cMost unwelcome news from UK on legacy issues. Unilateral departure from Stormont House Agreement undesirable and regrettable.”<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>