Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I think it would be helpful for people to appreciate what the Prime Minister actually said yesterday, which is that the legacy Act was

“unfit, not least because it gave immunity to hundreds of terrorists and was not supported by victims in Northern Ireland—nor, I believe, by any of the political parties in Northern Ireland. The Court found it unlawful … We will put in place a better framework. We are working on a draft remedial order and replacement legislation, and we will look at every conceivable way to prevent these types of cases from claiming damages”.—[Official Report, Commons, 15/1/25; col. 324.]

The objective in Sections 46 and 47 was right, which is why my party supported it in opposition. The method has been found to be unlawful and we are looking at every option for engagement. The noble Lord may be interested to look at the comments of the High Court. Although we did not appeal, the court chose to comment and suggested that we would have failed in our appeal. I have the exact wording which I will send to the noble Lord.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister provide your Lordships’ House with an update on the progress of the remedial order and of repealing the legacy legislation, which, as she rightly said, was opposed by political parties in Northern Ireland? Will she indicate that this new process will lead to the end of collusive behaviour on all sides, a root and branch review of ICRIR, and a commitment to the standards of legacy which were agreed by parties and by both Governments at the Stormont House talks in 2015?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her question. On 4 December, the Secretary of State laid a proposal for a draft remedial order in Parliament. This is the first step in correcting the mistakes of the previous Government’s approach and in fulfilling this Government’s commitment to repeal and replace the legacy Act, as was in our manifesto. The remedial order must sit in both Houses for two periods of 60 days to allow for proper scrutiny of the draft and for proper representations to be made. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has a key role in the process. It has already launched a call for evidence, which is due to close on Monday. The Secretary of State’s Statement, which I repeated in this House, also announced plans for primary legislation when parliamentary time allows. This will include provisions to reinstate legacy inquests halted by the Act, and to reform and strengthen the independent commission.