Burnham: I will take ‘Hillsborough approach’ to dealing with Troubles legacy

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he will take the same approach to getting answers for Troubles victims in Northern Ireland as he did for families affected by the Hillsborough tragedy.

Speaking in Belfast, Burnham said the Labour Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill would be brought back to UK Parliament in the autumn.

Last year, the UK Government, then led by Keir Starmer, made several commitments as part of a joint framework with the Irish Government on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles.

This included major reforms of a body tasked with investigating unsolved Troubles murders, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

There are families here, there are obviously people, veterans and their families, there are lots of people still seeking answers

The Labour Government’s legislation is aiming to replace the controversial Legacy Act brought in by the previous Conservative government.

Former Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn committed to adding amendments to the Bill to protect military veterans, including measures such as no repeated investigations, a requirement to consider the age and welfare of veterans, and that any veteran can give evidence remotely and anonymously.

Speaking about the Bill, Burnham said: “It will be brought back in the autumn.

“Why are we doing that? Because to abandon it would be, in my view, the wrong thing to do.

“There are families here, there are obviously people, veterans and their families, there are lots of people still seeking answers and it is right to put in place a legislative framework that will allow the commission to do its work, to provide answers to people who are still looking for them.

“That was the approach I took over Hillsborough, it is something that means a great deal to me.”

The UK Prime Minister added: “I don’t think anyone gains from leaving people without the truth, without those answers.

“That is what the Bill is seeking to do and we will bring it back to committee in the autumn.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant said he had met with families of Troubles victims in recent weeks.

He said: “The sense of real anger, resentment, grief, pain because they can’t come to answers, in some cases they can’t even find the remains of their loved ones.

“Some of the cruelty that was shown, letters being sent to people to pretend that somebody was still alive when they’d actually died, all of that, we have got to get answers for people and it is exactly the same to my mind as Hillsborough.”