Introduction of British Government’s Legacy Act ‘day of shame’

Family and friends of victims and survivors of Troubles state killings have protested the introduction of the British Government’s Legacy Act.

A protest took place outside NIO headquarters in Belfast city centre’s Erskine House on Wednesday.

Ann Doherty told The Irish News she was attending on behalf of her late brother Paul Kelly (17) who was shot dead by the UDR at the Kennedy Way roundabout in west Belfast.

“He was killed with excessive force,” she said.

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“He was hit 50 times in the torso, and we have had no justice. With the introduction of this Legacy Act, it looks as if we are not going to see any justice.

“We are here to support all the families and everybody else who has gone through all this. It is still raw with us, and it still breaks out hearts to see what is happening here today.

“We will keep on fighting for Paul, and we will stand by everybody else who is fighting for their relatives as well.”

Also attending the protest was Briege Voyle whose mother Joan Connolly (44) was killed in the Ballymurphy Massacre.

Ms Voyle said families needed to be told the truth.

“We got our inquest, which declared our loved ones innocent but there was no justice with it. There was nobody held accountable. The British Government didn’t make their soldiers come and tell the truth,” she added.

“The Springhill families have just been through the same and there are so many people whose inquests are not going to be heard. What is the British Government scared of? It is the only thing the whole of the north of Ireland agreed on. This is not going to work for anybody so why are they insisting on doing it? It is just a disgrace.”

Alan Brecknell from the Pat Finucane Centre said the act was not the appropriate way to deal with legacy.

Mr Brecknell’s father Trevor was killed in an attack on a bar in Armagh in December 1975. He travelled from Cullyhanna in south Armagh to take part in the protest.

He added: “Not just the Pat Finucane Centre but other organisations, victims’ and survivors’ families, political parties, the Council of Europe, the UN, basically everyone else has said this isn’t an appropriate way to deal with things.

“Today being May 1, the day the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) becomes operational is the opportune moment to say to the government, not that I think they listen, or they hear, ‘You should not impose the Legacy Act’.”

Mr Brecknell added that he had met Hilary Benn, touted as the next Secretary of State if the Labour Party wins the general election.

He said: “He also met with Sean Brown’s family yesterday and again reiterated the point that they [Labour Party] would reinstate inquests and civil cases.

“He did go on to say, we needed some sort of overarching process. I know Kier Starmer has said they would repeal the legislation. I am not 100% sure that it will be completely repealed but I do think they are well aware this is something that is universally rejected.”

Addressing the assembled crowd, Joe Austin, chairperson of the National Graves Association, described Wednesday as “a day of shame for the British Government”.

Also speaking, John Finucane MP, whose father Pat was murdered by loyalists in 1989, added some families had been waiting five decades “for the simple right to ask their questions in a courtroom – the very simple, democratic right to have an inquest for their loved ones”.

He said: “We know the amount of inquests that have not been able to conclude and they have not been able to conclude because the British Government and their agencies knew that this day was coming.”

“Make no mistake about the human impact this has had. For me this has been absolutely devastating for families, for loved ones and for multiple generations of families who have simply asked, ‘Why was my loved one killed? How were they killed?’ and demanding truth and demanding justice,” said Mr Finucane.

Concluding the speeches, Damian Brown, grandson of murdered GAA official, Sean Brown, recounted how his grandfather was killed.

“No-one has ever been charged with Sean’s murder,” said Mr Brown.

“Successive investigations and reviews by the Police Ombudsman, Historical Enquiries Team and even the PSNI have found a litany of failings in the original RUC investigation.”

In March, a legacy inquest into the death of the GAA official was halted when a coroner said his ability to examine the killing had been compromised by the extent of confidential state material being excluded from the proceedings on national security grounds.