Troops on patrol in the Falls Road area of Belfast during rioting in 1981. PA
legacy bill
MPs voted 330 to 178, majority 152, in favour at the third reading on Tuesday.
DRAFT LEGISLATION TO deal with The Troubles has been passed by the House of Commons.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant said ex British soldiers and those who lost loved ones in the decades of conflict “deserve answers”.
MPs voted 330 to 178, with a majority of 152, in favour of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill at the third reading on Tuesday. It will now be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
The draft law was first introduced to Parliament last year and is set to overhaul the previous Conservative government’s Legacy Act, with a reformed Legacy Commission.
Bryant appeared emotional in the Commons on Tuesday evening as he said: “This Bill isn’t about one group or another. It’s not about special favours for one group or another.
“It’s about honesty, candour, the pursuit of justice and, most importantly, truth. Because in the end, it’s only truth that can really set us free.”
He had earlier said: “When people say to me that people need to move on in Northern Ireland, my answer is no.
“No one has moved on more than the victims and survivors of the Troubles. They’re not living in the past, they’re living with the past.
“And if it’s not resolved, if people don’t get answers, that trauma will pass on to the next generation.”
Bryant continued: “Veterans and those armed forces families who lost loved ones in the conflict deserve answers.
“It is in the interests of the whole armed forces community affected by the Troubles that steady progress is made to ensure this legislation’s provisions are effective.”
At committee stage, he rejected an accusation from Traditional Unionist Voice MP Jim Allister (North Antrim) that the bill had been drafted to “spare the sensitivities of the Republic of Ireland”.
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Alex Burghart also argued the Irish legislation will allow, but not compel, the Irish state to cooperate with the Legacy Commission.
Bryant said the two governments plan to pass their own legislation to implement the agreement, which will “come into force in lockstep”.
The Irish authorities have promised the fullest possible cooperation with UK investigations.
More than 3,500 people were killed in the Troubles from the late 1960s until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, in sectarian conflict largely centred on whether Northern Ireland should remain in the UK or become part of a united Ireland.
More than 150 amendments were proposed by the government last week, prompting concerns over the ability of MPs to adequately scrutinise the draft legislation over two days.
This included the UK’s attorney general being given the responsibility of deciding whether serious prosecutions related to the Troubles should go ahead.
On Monday, concerns were raised over the exclusion of the Omagh bombing from the new Legacy Commission’s jurisdiction.
The Bill states the Commission will only look at events and conduct between 1 January 1966 and 10 April 1998 – when the Good Friday Agreement was signed.
But the Real IRA car bombing, which killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, took place months after the peace agreement on 15 August 1998.
MPs voted to reject a bid by the DUP’s Robinson to extend the cut-off to 30 August 1998.
There is an ongoing inquiry into the Omagh bombing, with a memorandum of understanding signed in April 2025 to secure the cooperation of the Irish government.
In Westminster, pressure was also put on ministers to allow victims of sexual violence during the Troubles to request an investigation.
Bryant pledged to “get that right in the House of Lords”, after Ulster Unionist Party MP Robin Swann (South Antrim) argued victims should not “become an overlooked part of the history of the Troubles”.
Under the Bill, there are three hurdles which must be cleared before a British army veteran is asked to act as a witness, Bryant said.
These are that new evidence must materially change the investigation, the Commission must undertake disclosure from state authorities, and the Commission must consider whether compelling new evidence is known or reasonably expected to exist.
On Tuesday evening, Bryant also confirmed the so-called on-the-run letters will not grant immunity for any crimes.
The scheme saw 200 people told they were not wanted for paramilitary crimes committed before the Belfast Agreement in 1998.
He said new clause 51 would make clear in the Bill these letters “cannot be used to prevent or frustrate a prosecution”.
Speaking last month after a meeting with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he supported changes to the Legacy Act.
“This is a really concrete and substantial agreement which will mean a lot to the survivors, to the families of victims, families who lost loved ones,” he said.
“The British and Irish governments have been working hard on this over the last number of years.”