Neil Carson / PAFormer Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams is in line for a “payday from the taxpayer” under plans to repeal the Legacy Act, a report backed by a number of peers has said.
Legislation at the time prevents him – and many others who were detained without trial in the 1970s – from claiming compensation for unlawful detention.
Policy Exchange, a London-based think tank, has criticized the move to lift the ban.
Labour, who have Started the process On repealing the Act, said the previous government’s approach to inheritance was “almost universally opposed in Northern Ireland”.
UK Supreme Court Decision in 2020 paved the way for Mr Adams to recover damages after it overturned his convictions for two attempted prison breaks.
It ruled his detention illegal because the Interim Custody Order (ICO) had not been “personally considered” by then Secretary of State Willie Whitelaw.
At the time, the previous government argued that ICOs were legal because of a convention known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the Secretary of State.
A provision was inserted into the Legacy Act, stopping payments to Mr Adams and about 400 others.
Last February, the High Court ruled that parts of the Act dealing with ICOs were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The government has now tabled an amendment bill in Parliament that would repeal various sections of the Legacy Act, including the sections covering ICOs.
A policy exchange paper criticizing the move is backed by 16 peers, including shadow attorney-general Lord Wolfson KC.
He said: “The government’s decision to repeal sections 46 and 47 of the Northern Troubles Act 2023 is incomprehensible and inexplicable.
“Parliament must now ask tough questions about why the Government is determined to uphold the Carltona principle and overrule Parliament’s recent, unanimous decision to stop Gerry Adams from paying public money.”
A government spokesman at the Northern Ireland Office said: “During the passage of the Legacy Act through Parliament, this Government agreed to belatedly amend detention orders, despite the original order being backdated in full in 2020. was
“Last year, this amendment was declared unconstitutional by the courts in Northern Ireland and therefore needs to be repealed.”
“It should not be forgotten that the Legacy Act also included a scheme that allowed immunity from prosecution, including for those who had committed the most heinous terrorist offences,” he added.
“We are also repealing these illegal provisions and will bring forward new substantive legislation to address the full range of inheritance issues.”