Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which (a) veterans groups and associations and (b) other stakeholder groups his Department consulted before deciding to not to continue the Supreme Court appeal on the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023; and what the nature of their input was.

In the Dillon and Others case, the Northern Ireland High Court made a number of section 4 Human Rights Act declarations of incompatibility in respect of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. The Government takes its human rights obligations extremely seriously and did not take forward an appeal.

The Government is appealing to the Supreme Court on two such declarations that were subsequently made by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

In consulting over legacy legislation, the Northern Ireland Office regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including veterans.