The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

Nadine Finch, Vice Chair LMIU, provides an update on the current passage of the Bill through Parliament

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill passed its second reading by 320 to 105 on 18 November 2025. On 6 May 2026, in the case of Martina Dillon & Others, the UK Supreme Court found that the provisions in the 2023 Act did not breach the ECHR. This will have an effect on how amendments to the present Bill can be motivated. It will also lead to the Government laying more of its own amendments to the Bill. It is unlikely to proceed to the committee stage until the Autumn.

Members of the LMIU executive have been working with our patron, John McDonnell MP, Andy McDonnell MP, Amnesty International and the Committee for the Administration of Justice to draft amendments to the bill. They are also working with a cross-party group of MPs to discuss a joint approach to the committee stage. Key concerns are that the judges in the proposed Legacy Commission will be appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, very few cases will proceed to an inquest and that the Secretary of State will be able to provide a very wide national security veto to information that can be released by the new Legacy Commission to victims, families and the community.

Nadine Finch will be posting further reports through the autumn.