Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will legislate to reverse the effect of the judgment of the Supreme Court in R v Adams [2020] UKSC 19 to ensure that Gerry Adams is not entitled to receive public money due to his detention in the 1970s and to restore the doctrine created as a result of the judgment in Carltona v Commissioners of Works [1943] 2 All ER 560 under which a duly authorised official is able to take executive decisions on a Secretary of State's behalf.

The main issue here is the application of the Carltona principle in the context of Interim Custody Orders. The previous Government’s attempt to address this following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams has been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be incompatible with our international obligations and we need to find a better way of reaffirming this principle.

The Government is carefully exploring how to address this complex issue alongside our clear commitment to implement legacy mechanisms that are fully compliant with human rights, and will do so in upcoming Primary Legislation.