Carns challenges government plan for Northern Ireland Troubles inquests
Former defence minister Al Carns is challenging the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill with an amendment to move ongoing inquests into a new Legacy Commission. He argues this would provide a more centralised and proportionate route to answers while reducing costs, but ministers are not expected to accept the change, which could prompt a Commons vote.
The Bill would revise the 2023 Legacy and Reconciliation Act after parts of it were found incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; Labour dropped the previous government’s appeal. The Government’s plan would retain current inquests and send only new cases to the Commission. Carns says inquests can cost £20 million to £200 million each, while the veterans commissioner supports his amendment; opposition MPs have also criticised the Bill and the time allowed to examine more than 100 government amendments.
- Al Carns is seeking to transfer ongoing Troubles inquests to a new commission.
- He says the change could cut costs and create a centralised process.
- The Government is not expected to accept his amendment.
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The Northern Ireland Troubles were a decades-long conflict involving republican and loyalist armed groups and the British state. Many people were killed, and families have spent years seeking information about deaths linked to the conflict.
The Legacy Commission is a proposed body to investigate Troubles-related deaths and provide information to families. The Government’s Bill would change a 2023 law after parts of it were found incompatible with human rights protections, while keeping inquests already under way and directing new cases to the Commission.
Inquests are formal investigations into how someone died, and can examine evidence in public. The debate concerns how best to provide answers to families, how investigations should be handled, and the cost and time involved.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Moving ongoing inquests into a single Legacy Commission could offer a more consistent and proportionate way to investigate Troubles cases, reduce duplication and bring down the high costs cited by Carns. Supporters may also argue that a central body could make better use of expertise and resources while helping families seek answers through a clearer process.
The case against
Keeping ongoing inquests in the courts would preserve established procedures and judicial independence for cases already under way, rather than shifting them into a new body. Ministers’ approach also limits disruption by sending only new cases to the Commission, while the Bill’s changes follow findings that parts of the previous framework were incompatible with human rights protections.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Labour backlash over Northern Ireland Troubles Bill with ex-defence minister Al Carns ‘set to defy Andy Burnham and rebel against plans’”.