UK Plans to End All Northern Ireland Prosecutions
The UK has announced plans for a statute of limitations that would end all prosecutions of ex-paramilitaries and former members of the security forces in murder cases in Northern Ireland.
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London demands ending prosecutions for the Northern Ireland dispute
The British government has recommended stopping all prosecutions of British soldiers and militants involved in Northern Ireland's three-decade war, inciting outrage among victims' families and politicians in Belfast and Dublin.
On his part, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told Parliament that “Northern Ireland police are investigating more than 1,000 civil cases lodged, which are considered a fraction of the 3,500 murder cases in three decades of upheaval."
"Ongoing litigation processes often fail to deliver for families and victims, and their continued presence in a society which is trying to heal from the wounds of its past risks preventing it from being able to move forward," he added.
Lewis said, "We know that the prospect of the end of criminal prosecutions will be difficult for some to accept, and this is not a position that we take lightly."
Northern Ireland has been embroiled in a three-decade battle between traditionally Catholic Republicans aligned with the Republic of Ireland and the traditionally Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain tied to the United Kingdom.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), UK’s Boris Johnson said that legacy proposals would allow Northern Ireland to 'draw a line under the troubles'.
"The sad fact remains that there are many members of the armed services who continue to face the threat of vexatious prosecutions well into their 70s and 80s," he added.
"We are finally bringing forward a solution to this problem, to enable the people of Northern Ireland to draw a line under the troubles and to enable the people of Northern Ireland to move forward," Boris stressed.
On his part, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said that the move towards what he defined as amounting to a general amnesty for those accused of murder and other crimes was not the right way to go "for many, many reasons".
Three murder trials of former soldiers collapsed in recent weeks due to ruling evidence collected decades ago as inadmissible. They included the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” killings of unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers.
