Troubles prosecutions: Stormont parties 'must unite against plans'

Stormont parties must engage collectively and put their "best foot forward" to oppose government plans to end Troubles-related prosecutions, First Minister Paul Givan has said.

Party leaders will meet Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis on Friday about the proposals.

Mr Givan described the plans as a "further insult to victims".

The SDLP is seeking a recall of the assembly from summer recess to allow MLAs to discuss the issue.

The government also wants to explore ways to halt live court proceedings in Troubles-related cases.

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said a recall would send a clear message to the government.

"We are asking other parties to join us in recalling the assembly because the truth is all victims and survivors are opposed to this, all political parties in Northern Ireland are opposed to this, the Irish government is opposed to this," she added.

"So we want to demonstrate and say very loudly and clearly to the British government that as an assembly all of the parties are united on this, that we stand with the victims and survivors and we will not allow the British government to do this."

On Wednesday at Westminster, Mr Lewis outlined legacy proposals, including an end to future prosecutions.

This would affect both former Army personnel as well as ex-paramilitaries.

Mr Givan said he wanted to ensure that the next steps were "carefully thought through".

He said the government was proposing to "wipe the slate clean" and that victims needed to be placed at the centre of any legacy process.

"Clearly this is going to be a battle that has to be fought at Westminster," he said.

"I would encourage Sinn Féin to take their seats at Westminster. If they're really serious about taking the fight on this issue, join with the other members of Parliament from Northern Ireland and go to London and make the case."

Sinn Féin has seven MPs but its party does not sit in the House of Commons due to its long-standing policy of abstentionism.

Earlier, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Stormont party leaders would meet with Mr Lewis on Friday to discuss legacy plans.

It is understood the talks would also involve Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.

Sir Jeffrey said the parties hoped to use the opportunity to express opposition to the government's proposals.

Sir Jeffrey said any process "must be victim-centred and victim-led" and "it is vitally important the voice of victims is heard in all of this".

He said: "We cannot continue to fail victims, we cannot corrupt the rule of law.

"When you proceed on the basis that victims no longer have the opportunity to pursue justice, that is how they will regard this."

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou MacDonald said she did not think "Dublin in particular should afford any form of soft landing for Boris Johnson and his government".

"They have clearly shredded the Stormont House Agreement and delivered an incredibly cruel and shameless body blow to victims and survivors across this island and beyond," she told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said it was a "disgraceful, unilateral move by the British government" and "a continued cover-up in giving immunity to state forces".

Justice Minister Naomi Long said any attempt to put a bar on prosecution could end up in the European Court of Human Rights.

"I would be surprised if at least one family didn't take a case to assert their right to seek justice, " Ms Long said.

The 2014 Stormont House Agreement proposed two new agencies - the Historical Investigations Unit and the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval - but it was ultimately not implemented.

The plans have been widely criticised by victims' campaign groups, as well as the five Stormont executive parties and the Irish government.

There has also been criticism from former director of public prosecutions, Barra McGrory, who questioned the legality of the proposals in relation to inquests.

"This is a shocking proposal issued by a government which claims to adhere to the rule of law in that is seeks to abolish completely all meaningful and judicial accountable processes," he said.

"We've heard many arguments recently in the courts about the sovereignty of parliament and that parliament can undo anything it has previously done, but to take a step that would abolish a historical and ancient judicial process by which controversial deaths can be examined, the legality of that is very questionable."

Baroness Nuala O'Loan, who was Northern Ireland's first police ombudsman, said the proposals disregarded the rule of law and are designed to protect former soldiers from prosecution.

"I think there are very serious questions to ask. I think what has happened here is such a terrible, terrible betrayal of the victims.

"To deprive them of all their legal remedies simultaneously is a total abdication by government of their responsibilities for the operation of the rule of law," she told BBC Radio Foyle.

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, said the government's proposals would be "seen by many victims as a betrayal of trust which denies justice to them and to their loved ones".

He said: "I was particularly disappointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's naïve comments in the House of Commons suggesting that his legacy proposals would allow Northern Ireland to "draw a line under the Troubles".

"At this painful time I ask for prayers of comfort for victims suffering on all sides in the conflict, and for truth and justice to prevail in the interest of the common good."

There are live court proceedings in eight cases being dealt with by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

The PPS has said its work continues as normal in the absence of new legislation, which the government intends to introduce later this year.

The current proceedings include charges against Soldier B and Soldier F dating back to 1972.

Both suspects have been granted anonymity.

Soldier B's case relates to the death of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in Londonderry in July 1972.

Soldier F is accused of the murders of two people on Bloody Sunday, as well as five attempted murders.

Earlier this month, both soldiers were told the PPS intended to withdraw proceedings.

This followed a decision in a separate case involving soldiers A and C who were accused of killing IRA man Joe McCann in Belfast in the same year.

The PPS found there were "related evidential features" between this case and those of soldiers B and F meaning there was no reasonable prospect of "key evidence" being used in their trials.

Under a statute of limitations proposed by the government on Wednesday, there would be a ban on legal proceedings being taken in Troubles cases after a certain period of time.

The proposals also include an end to all legacy inquests and civil actions.

The government's paper on the plans made no mention of what might happen to cases currently before the courts.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the PPS said: "In the absence of any new legislation coming into force, there will be no change to how we exercise our statutory functions.

"We will continue to take decisions on cases submitted to us by investigating agencies and, where decisions to prosecute have been taken, we will seek to bring those cases to trial."

When asked by BBC News NI what the proposals mean for live cases, a government spokesperson said: "We have published proposals today for discussion with the Irish government, NI parties and others.

"There are many details that we want to consider with others as part of this process."

Apart from Soldier B and Soldier F, the other live proceedings involve:

There have been 37 cases in which the PPS has taken prosecutorial decisions since 2012.

These have involved republican and loyalist paramilitaries, as well as a number of cases involving former soldiers.