UK to scrap Northern Ireland immunity provision as approach to 'Troubles' legacy reworked

BELFAST (Reuters) -Britain and Ireland on Friday announced a new framework to address the legacy of decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and replace a British law that offered soldiers immunity and angered victims' families on all sides.

The agreement fulfilled a pledge by Britain's Labour government to scrap the previous Conservative government's Legacy Act. A section of that law offered immunity from prosecution for ex-soldiers and militants who cooperate with a new investigative body and was ruled incompatible with human rights law.

The new framework will allow the resumption of inquests that were abruptly halted by the Legacy Act into cases from the conflict between Irish nationalist militants seeking a united Ireland, pro-British "loyalist" paramilitaries and the British military.

"Dealing with the legacy of the Troubles is hard, and that is why it has been, for so long, the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement," Britain's Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn told a news conference referring to the 1998 peace deal that largely ended the conflict.

"It is clear that a perfect outcome is not attainable, but we firmly believe that this agreement represents the right approach."

WINNING FAMILIES' CONFIDENCE 'WILL TAKE TIME'

The 2023 law was opposed by all political parties in Northern Ireland, as well as by the Irish government, which brought a legal challenge against Britain at the European Court of Human Rights. 

The new plans will overhaul the independence and governance of a new investigative body that was criticised by victims' families, and ensure it is capable of referring cases for potential prosecution.

They will lift a prohibition on civil cases and establish a separate information recovery body, while also introducing protections for former soldiers who served in Northern Ireland, including a right to seek anonymity when giving information.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said Dublin will revisit its legal challenge against Britain if the framework proves to be human rights-compliant and secures the support of victims' families.

The region's largest cross-community victims and survivors support group, the WAVE Trauma Centre, said it would wait to see if the new Legacy Commission will "truly deliver."

"Victims and survivors will want to look very carefully indeed at the upcoming legislation and the structures and processes that emerge from it," WAVE CEO Sandra Peake said.

The largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party, said London should not be deferring to Dublin on the issue and said the framework requires "serious examination."

The head of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, said promised legislation will be "the litmus test as to the seriousness of the British government." There can be no "side deal" for British veterans, she added.

The Conservative government had defended its approach by arguing that prosecutions linked to the events of up to 57 years ago were increasingly unlikely to lead to convictions.

The framework is part of the Labour government's reset in relations with Ireland following strains caused by Britain's departure from the European Union.

(Writing by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson)