British Government expected to legislate for Troubles legacy

The British Government is expected to reaffirm its commitment to pass legislation to deal with the legacy of the Troubles with a pledge in the Queen’s speech later today, Tuesday, May 10.

The speech is used to set out plans for new laws.

The government may also promise to bring forward long-awaited Irish language legislation.

However, despite pressure from the DUP, it is unlikely to act on the NI Protocol.

The protocol is the part of the UK’s Brexit deal with the European Union, which retains free trade across the Irish border but introduced checks on some goods moving across the Irish Sea from the UK to Northern Ireland.

The DUP has said it will not go back into government until its concerns over these post-Brexit trading arrangements are resolved.

The speech setting out the government’s legislative plans for the next parliamentary session will be given by Prince Charles, after the Queen pulled out.

It is expected to include a commitment to bring forward delayed legislation on the controversial amnesty proposals.

The laws have been held up by about six months as the government continued to engage with parties and victims’ groups.

The plans emerged last July when the government proposed “drawing a line under the Troubles” by banning any more prosecutions.

This would cover all Troubles-related incidents involving paramilitary organisations as well as the police and Army.

But the idea has faced widespread opposition in the North of Ireland.

Instead of prosecutions, inquests and civil cases, the government has suggested a truth recovery process for bereaved families, including a level of disclosure by the state “that has never happened before”.

In recent months, it has been examining how to make truth recovery a more robust investigative process.

There is speculation it wants to try to compel former paramilitaries to come forward with information.

This may involve tweaking the original plans, leaving the door open to potential prosecutions for a failure to co-operate.

The government has come under mounting pressure from its own back benches to act quicker in order to prevent any further prosecutions of former British soldiers.

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