British-Irish meeting to focus on legacy act

The implementation of the government’s controversial legacy act will be on the agenda when British and Irish ministers meet on Monday.

It will be the latest session of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC).

The BIIGC was set up by the Good Friday Agreement and meets twice a year.

Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris and Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin will be among those taking part in the conference.

The last meeting of the BIIGC took place in Dublin in November and focused on efforts to get the power-sharing institutions at Stormont restored.

This time ministers from the two governments will meet in London.

Mr Martin said that he was “pleased” to be in London for the first meeting of the BIIGC since the restoration of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions.

“As ever, there are numerous areas of mutual interest for the governments to discuss and I look forward to another productive conference,” he said.

The administrations have previously clashed over the legacy law, as the Irish government has repeatedly opposed the act.

The Legacy and Reconciliation Act was passed at Westminster last year, with the government arguing that it is an attempt to draw a line under the events of the past.

From Wednesday inquests into Troubles-related killings which have not concluded by then will close.

An Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) has also been set up.

The aim of this new organisation is to help families find out more about the circumstances of how their loved ones were killed or seriously injured.

The Irish government is taking a case against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The part of the act which offered conditional immunity from prosecution for Troubles offences was struck out by the High Court in Belfast in February.

However, the ruling is being appealed by the government.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris had previously said he was committed to implementing the legislation.

The act, which became law in September, will end future civil litigation and inquests into deaths which occurred during more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles.

The government has repeatedly stated the new act is, in its view, human rights compliant.

Prosecutions that are currently ongoing will continue to conclusion.

But it introduced a ban on civil cases not lodged before May 2022 and inquests which have not reached the stage of findings by 1 May 2024 will cease.

Opponents believe it may also limit Troubles investigations, which in future would be undertaken by the ICRIR and not the PSNI.

The Irish Justice minister Helen McEntee is among ministers who will attend the British-Irish meeting.

On Sunday night the Irish Department of Justice told BBC News NI that a meeting scheduled for Monday between the minister and Home Secretary James Cleverly had been postponed.

Ms McEntee had said she planned to raise migration with Mr Cleverly and the Irish government’s plan for new legislation that would enable asylum seekers to be sent back to the UK.

The Irish government has said 80% of recent arrivals to the Republic came from the UK across the Irish border, and that the UK’s Rwanda policy is impacting Ireland.