Lord Browne of Belmont (DUP)

My Lords, the issues tonight need to be addressed collectively. Any primary legislation ought to take a broad, forward-facing approach, rather than narrowly focusing on the discrete issues raised either in the legacy Act or by the Court of Appeal. For much of the past 28 years, there has been an erosion of justice when it comes to dealing with the troubled past in Northern Ireland. For many victims of terror in Northern Ireland, there has been a hope of justice. But for many, justice has only been a repeated word and results have not been delivered. We have witnessed a process whereby terrorists were released from prison. It was then followed by comfort letters that certainly offered no comfort to the innocent victims of terror. Across Northern Ireland, many people realistically accept that there is a limited possibility of successful prosecution and meaningful jail terms for those who carried out atrocities against innocent victims. Much of the focus around the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has been on issues of independence and, specifically, concerns expressed by those who feel that the state holds vital information on the circumstances of their loved one’s death. The ICRIR has limited influence when it comes to requiring or disclosing that information to families, yet the stark reality is that it remains a far more significant inducer of information from the state than from the terrorist. Little in the way of attention has been paid to how the ICRIR can provide answers for those families who are met with a wall of silence by terrorist organisations responsible for murder and bloodshed. Why should the family of a terrorist atrocity be left bereft of disclosure when the family of an act involving the state receives answers? There ought to be an acceptance that the primacy of the European Convention on Human Rights in our statute books and the courts is not just facilitating but accelerating that double standard in justice outcomes for victims of the Troubles.