Labour accused of making way for Gerry Adams and hundreds of IRA prisoners to sue for wrongful imprisonment
Labour was accused of clearing a legal path for Gerry Adams and hundreds of IRA prisoners to sue for wrongful imprisonment on Tuesday.
Leading Conservatives claimed the former Sinn Fein leader will be able to take legal action over his internment in the notorious H Blocks in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.
Mr Adams’ expected payout had been blocked by the previous government’s Legacy Act. But this legislation has now been rescinded.
The Legacy Act, driven through parliament by the former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, put a bar on all new civil actions relating to the Troubles.
Labour ministers claim their new Troubles Bill will seek to put up a similar barrier to Adams and 400 Republicans receiving compensation.
But Adams has already won a court victory against the same case law - known as the Carltona Principle - which Labour appear to be relying on.
In 2020 the UK Supreme Court found in his favour that his internment was unlawful because it had not been authorised personally by the Secretary of State.
Five justices agreed Mr Adams was therefore entitled to have two convictions for attempting to escape from legal custody quashed, overturning a ruling of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams had been taken into custody under article 4 of the Detention of Terrorists (Northern Ireland) in 1972
The Mail has called for the persecution of veterans from Northern Ireland to cease as part of its Stop the SAS Betrayal campaign.
Shadow Defence Minister Mark Francois said: ‘The original Conservative Legacy Act which prevented Gerry Adams from suing the taxpayer took some 18 months of parliamentary debate.
‘Labour’s remedial orders are cynical and disingenuous. This is two-tier justice with our veterans at the bottom of the heap. Sinn Fein will be laughing about this farce.’
Following Labour’s rescinding of the Legacy Act, UK veterans face further persecution in the courts over disputed events from the Troubles era.
SAS soldiers involved in intense engagements with IRA terrorists such as the Loughgall ambush of 1987, which resulted in the deaths of eight Republicans, now face fresh inquests.
The Troubles Bill announced by the Government on Tuesday will replace the 2023 Legacy Act - but it will not be on the statute books for at least 18 months.
Republicans seeking compensation are expected to bring new legal actions during this window.
The Government claimed the Troubles Bill: ‘will address the UK Supreme Court ruling in Adams regarding the application of the Carltona Principle in the context of interim custody orders, making clear that such orders could be made by Junior Ministers as well as by the Secretary of State.
‘The Bill follows extensive consultation with victims and families, community organisations and civil society, the Northern Ireland political parties and our Armed Forces community.’
But senior officers voiced furious opposition to the Government’s plans. Retired General Sir Nick Parker said: ‘By reopening investigations, there is no genuine safeguard for veterans.
‘This amounts to torture by the State of those who risked their lives following orders. This undermines morale, operational decisiveness and the credibility of UK commitments to allies.
‘Confidence in command is the foundation of security. You cannot defend tomorrow if you keep relitigating yesterday.’
The introduction of the Troubles Bill to parliament on Tuesday coincided with the start of a three-day hearing at the UK Supreme Court into whether the defunct Legacy Act was or was not unlawful.
Lawyers representing veterans will mount a defence of the act which Labour vowed to amend after a court in Belfast found it breached articles of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to unfettered access to justice.
