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Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

Lifecycle: Implementation Northern Ireland Affairs Committee · Northern Ireland Office · Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Last regenerated 1 month, 3 weeks ago · 3 new events since

Summary

What this is

Bill 310 (2024-26), introduced 14 October 2025, repeals Part 2 of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and re-founds the ICRIR as a renamed and reformed 'Legacy Commission' with a Legacy Commissioner, two Directors of Investigations, a judicial panel, a statutory Victims and Survivors Advisory Group, new Part 4 inquisitorial proceedings drawing on the Inquiries Act 2005 model, restored Troubles-related inquests under Part 7, and a statutory footing for a UK-Ireland Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR).

Why it matters

The Bill is the Government's response both to the cross-community rejection of the 2023 Act and to the Northern Ireland courts' declarations of incompatibility in Re Dillon, currently before the UK Supreme Court; it removes immunity from prosecution, restores civil proceedings and certain inquests, and codifies the UK-Ireland Joint Framework agreed on 19 September 2025.

Current status

Second Reading was taken in the Commons on 18 November 2025; the Bill has since been in Commons Public Bill Committee with daily amendment papers running into April 2026, and a King's Speech 2026 commitment confirms the Government's intent to carry the Bill into the second session.

What changed recently

  • 14 May 2026 — Government legislative programme statement for the second session confirms the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill is carried over and continues to be a priority. →
  • 13 May 2026 — King's Speech 2026 Background Briefing Notes set out the Bill's scope, including reformed Legacy Commission, fair disclosure regime, restored inquests, new Part 4 inquisitorial proceedings, and ICIR establishment. →
  • 30 Apr 2026 — SI 2026/483 extends the transitional 'completion' window for legacy investigation reports under the 2024 commencement regulations from 30 April 2026 to 31 October 2026, buying additional time for in-flight cases while the Bill progresses. →
  • 22 Apr 2026 — Secretary of State Hilary Benn made parallel WMSs (HCWS1536/HLWS1544) updating Parliament on the Bill's progress and the Joint Framework with Ireland. →
  • 1 Dec 2025 — Northern Ireland Affairs Committee published its report on the Government's new approach, finding the Joint Framework and Bill 'partially fill the gap' on accountability but raising concerns about ECHR-compliance, conflicts of interest, disclosure and resourcing. →

Key documents

Framework

Operationalising

Scrutiny

Stakeholders

Grouped by role with evidence. Long groups scroll inside their column.

Sponsoring department 1

  • Northern Ireland Office → src
    Sponsoring department for Bill 310 and for the parallel s.10 HRA Remedial Order; lead body on the UK-Ireland Joint Framework of 19 September 2025.

Sponsoring minister 2

  • Hilary Benn → src
    Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; Bill sponsor and signatory of the section 19(1)(a) HRA compatibility statement; issued WMSs HCWS108 (7 Oct 2024), HCWS1063 (18 Nov 2025) and HCWS1536 (22 Apr 2026) shaping the Bill and the Remedial Order pathway.
  • Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent → src
    Government Spokesperson for Northern Ireland in the Lords; delivered the parallel HLWS1062 (18 Nov 2025) and HLWS1544 (22 Apr 2026) statements on the Bill on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Lead committee 2

  • Northern Ireland Affairs Committee → src
    Lead Commons select committee; launched its 'Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past' inquiry (December 2024), held oral evidence sessions on 26 February and 23 April 2025 and on 22 October and 5 November 2025 ahead of Second Reading, and published its substantive report on 1
  • Joint Committee on Human Rights → src
    Independent human-rights scrutiny: 1st Report on the proposed Remedial Order (28 February 2025) and 9th Report on the draft Remedial Order (9 December 2025), feeding into clauses 17 and 22 of the Bill.

Witnesses & evidence-givers 3

  • Amnesty International UK and the Committee on the Administration of Justice → src
    Joint correspondence to the NI Affairs Committee (18 July 2025) on the Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past.
  • Law Society of Northern Ireland → src
    Public position welcoming the revised framework and the Bill as a 'bilateral, victims-centred and human rights compliant' approach, quoted in the King's Speech 2026 Background Briefing Notes.
  • Royal British Legion → src
    Public position welcoming safeguards on repeated investigations and witness welfare for veterans, while supporting bereaved Armed Forces families' continued pursuit of answers; quoted in the King's Speech 2026 Background Briefing Notes.

Regulator / delivery programme 5

  • Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) / Legacy Commission (renamed) → src
    Body whose governance, functions and remit are reformed by Parts 2-5 of the Bill (clause 1(2) renames it the Legacy Commission).
  • Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) → src
    New UK-Ireland body given statutory footing by Part 6 of the Bill; receives information about Troubles deaths on terms that exclude admissibility in legal proceedings.
  • Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland → src
    Receives referrals from Directors / judicial panel members of PSNI conduct under clauses 70-71 (with consequential amendments to the Police (NI) Act 1998).
  • Advocate General for Northern Ireland / Solicitor General (England and Wales) → src
    Decision-maker under Part 7 / clause 84 for stopped legacy inquests not previously assigned a responsible coroner; the Government intends the Solicitor General to exercise the function under s.2 Law Officers Act 1997.
  • An Garda Síochána (dedicated Troubles unit) → src
    Irish-side counterpart established under the UK-Ireland Joint Framework as a central point of contact for families and an investigating body for Troubles-related incidents within Irish jurisdiction.

Civil society 1

  • Government of Ireland → src
    Bilateral partner under the 19 September 2025 Joint Framework; committed to parallel legislation on cross-border co-operation and the ICIR's establishment.

Political commitments

What parties and ministers have promised — manifesto pledges, King's Speech announcements, ministerial statements. Each card shows what was said, by whom, and when, with a link to the original source.

  • commitment King's Speech announcement Labour · 2026 · King's Speech announces Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

    Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

    The Bill will provide effective protections for veterans and enable bereaved families, including of service personnel, to get answers about what happened to their loved ones. … nobody receives immunity for terrorist crimes; and puts in place the strongest safeguards for veterans and all who served to bring about peace.

    Why linked: Direct King's Speech 2026 commitment naming this Bill and setting its policy objectives.

    Source: King's Speech announces Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2024 · Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy & Reconciliation) Act 2023

    Repeal and replace the 2023 Legacy Act

    Why linked: Hilary Benn's 29 July 2024 WMS and 7 October 2024 WMS HCWS108 commit the new Government to repeal/replace the 2023 Act in response to Dillon — the policy origin of Bill 310.

    Source: Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy & Reconciliation) Act 2023 · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2026 · The Government's Legislative Programme: Northern Ireland

    Carry-over into second session

    Why linked: HLWS1579 / HCWS1570 (14 May 2026) confirm the Bill remains a Government priority in the second-session legislative programme.

    Source: The Government's Legislative Programme: Northern Ireland · Original ↗

Open questions & gaps

Known gaps in the evidence base and what's still pending.

Pending in the lifecycle

  • UK Supreme Court ruling on the Secretary of State's appeal in Re Dillon (heard 14-16 October 2025), which will determine whether the ICRIR's investigative regime under the 2023 Act was Article 2/3-compliant and whether the disclosure regime stands.
  • Approval (or rejection) by Parliament of the draft Remedial Order 2025 under HRA s.10, which must precede or run alongside Royal Assent to clear immunity, criminal-bar and civil-bar provisions of the 2023 Act.
  • Commons Committee of the whole House and Report stages; daily amendment papers run to 28 April 2026 indicating live drafting work on clauses including 89-90 (ICOs).
  • Legislative Consent Motions for Northern Ireland and Scotland (Lord Advocate functions) as flagged in the Explanatory Notes.
  • Irish Government's parallel legislation on cross-border co-operation and ICIR establishment, promised under the Joint Framework but not yet introduced.

Beyond the corpus

  • MISSING Detailed Government response to the December 2025 NI Affairs Committee report (recommendations on ECHR-compliance language on the face of the Bill, indicative list of consultees under clause 9, conflicts of interest specifics). — Standard select-committee response window of two months has passed; no event in this build evidences a published Government response.
  • MISSING Regulations under clause 22 designating a specific collection of biometric material and providing for time-limited retention and periodic review. — Clause 22 is enabling; the ECHR Memorandum signals these regulations will need to satisfy S and Marper / Gaughran proportionality requirements.
  • MISSING Regulations under clause 21 on holding and handling of information, and the Secretary of State's published list of consultees under clause 9. — Both are required by the face of the Bill and were specifically flagged by the NI Affairs Committee.

Confidence gaps

  • Exact funding envelope for the reformed Legacy Commission and ICIR — the NI Affairs Committee report highlighted resourcing as critical but no spending settlement is on this thread.
  • Whether the Bill's Part 3 'fact-finding investigation' route delivers Article 2-compliant next-of-kin participation in the absence of explicit statutory provision for funded legal representation (a Court of Appeal concern in Dillon that the Department argues the Supreme Court will not uphold).