MPs are debating plans to remove the immunity provision from legislation addressing unresolved crimes from the Northern Ireland Troubles. The Government is seeking approval for an order to overturn elements of the previous Legacy Act, including a scheme that would have granted immunity from prosecution to individuals involved in Troubles-related offences in exchange for cooperation with a truth recovery body. That scheme was ruled unlawful and never implemented. Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn said the changes are necessary to restore trust among victims’ families and communities who strongly oppose immunity for those responsible for violence and murder. The order would also lift restrictions on bringing new civil claims, reinstating the right of families to seek justice through the courts. In response to concerns among veterans’ groups that this could expose former members of the armed forces to repeated or unfair legal action, the Government intends to introduce safeguards for veterans, including limits on reinvestigation, health protections, anonymity provisions, and alternative ways of giving evidence.

On 11 September a 33-year-old man was detained in the Strabane area for a mortar bomb found pointed at the police station. The improvised explosive device was positioned close to a family home, and the incident has been blamed on a dissident republican group, the New IRA. Within 48 hours of the bomb being discovered officers moved into the Creggan estate en masse, quickly locating a command-wire activated device built to kill a passing police patrol. Senior officers clearly knew what they were looking for and where it was placed - precise information that must have come from what they describe as a Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS). Many believe the New IRA, like all paramilitary gangs past and present, is filled to the brim with such informers.