Legacy Bill set to get royal assent in Early September, Heaton-Harris says

Jonathan McCambridge (PA)

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said he is confident the Government’s controversial Bill to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles will receive royal assent in early September.

The Secretary of State said he understands the concerns of bereaved families who fear the legislation will stop them from ever receiving justice and conceded it is not a perfect solution to legacy issues.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill would give immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to people who co-operated with a truth recovery body.

It would also prevent future civil cases and inquests.

The Bill is opposed by all major Stormont parties, the Irish Government and victims’ campaign groups.

The Government had wanted the legislation passed before Parliament went into recess this week, but was delayed after peers in the House of Lords introduced amendments.

Mr Heaton-Harris said: “I believe it is September 5 it will be back in the Lords, should there be an amendment tabled in the Lords by somebody and that get passed, which is possible but I’d say unlikely, then it would come back to the Commons on the sixth.

“The Lords passed amendments to remove elements of the Bill or change elements of the Bill, and they won the votes by 12 and 24.

“We overturned that by a very big vote of 92 in the House of Commons, bigger than the Government’s majority by quite some way.

“So, I am confident the Bill will receive royal assent at some point at the beginning of September.”

Mr Heaton-Harris said many families of Troubles victims had gone 50 years without any information about what happened to their loved ones.

He said: “That means that everybody who is involved in what happened originally is 50 years older and might not be around for too much longer.

“I know this is not the perfect solution but I don’t think there will ever be a perfect solution of trying to find the answers to the past in Northern Ireland of all the things that happened in the Troubles.

“But I do believe this will help some people find the answers they require.”

He said: “I have gone around and spoken to lots and lots of people, as has my ministerial team. Lord Caine has done over 70 different engagements with people, I have done dozens and dozens of them myself.

“I am old enough to remember some of the incidents but I didn’t live through them.

“So, listening to people’s individual stories of what happened to their family members is really emotional.

“I am genuinely trying to find a solution for the group of people for whom information might be enough.”

Mr Heaton-Harris stressed that under the new legislation recommendations for prosecution could be made in some circumstances by the newly-established Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, which will take over hundreds of unresolved legacy cases.