From the BBC:
“New plan for NI Troubles cases
to 'limit' investigations”
Only a small number of Troubles
killings will receive "full-blown" investigations under a new
approach to dealing with Northern Ireland's past. The plan, set to be announced
by the government on Wednesday, will likely disappoint hundreds of families. It
would see the vast majority of almost 2,000 unsolved cases closed and prevented
in legislation from ever being re-opened. The move represents a significant
rethink of the legacy issue. Under what is being proposed, unresolved cases
would be "swiftly" assessed by a new independent body. But only those
in which there is "new compelling evidence and a realistic prospect of a
prosecution" would move to a full-blown investigation. In the rest of the
cases, the objective would be to provide families with as much information
possible. The Northern Ireland Office said: "Once cases have been
considered there will be a legal bar on any future investigation occurring. "This will end the cycle of
reinvestigations for the families of victims and (army) veterans alike. Parties
have been briefed about the plan, which would need to be adopted in legislation
at Westminster. One source familiar with discussions said while there is
"a route to prosecutions, it is not the emphasis" under the fresh
approach. Previously, all or most cases would likely have had an investigation
- a process which could collectively have taken a decade to achieve at a cost
£400m. The government has pledged to table legacy legislation within 100 days
of Stormont's return in January. The deadline is still being worked towards. The
updated legacy plan will be set out on the same day as the Minister for
Veterans' Affairs, Jonny Mercer, announces legislation to protect former
soldiers from "vexatious" historical investigations. Notably however,
it will only cover overseas operations, not Northern Ireland.
^ This seems like another way for
the British Government in London to continue to cover-up their mistakes and
violence in Northern Ireland as they did from the 1960s-2010s. The victims and
their families deserve the truth as well as justice. This proposal won’t give
them either. ^
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-51935718
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