PM says government will try to block payout | UK News

The government will look at “every conceivable way” to prevent former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams from receiving compensation, the prime minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer was speaking in the House of Commons after the Conservatives said it was “shameful” that repealing the Legacy Act could put Mr Adams in line for a “cheque”.

The Legacy Act presently blocks him – and many others interned without trial in the 1970s – from claiming compensation for unlawful detention.

Several peers have backed a report by Policy Exchange, a London-based think tank, criticising moves to lift the ban.

Labour, which has begun the process of repealing the act, said the previous government’s approach to legacy was “almost universally opposed in Northern Ireland”.

A clause in the act blocks payouts to Mr Adams and about 400 other people also interned.

If the Legacy Act was repealed by Parliament, it is thought highly likely Mr Adams would pursue compensation.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said the act was “unfit” because it was not supported by victims or political parties.

He referred to the Northern Ireland High Court finding part of the act was incompatible with human rights’ legislation and the Windsor Framework.

“We will put in place a better framework, we’re working on a draft remedial order and replacement legislation and we will look at every conceivable way to prevent these types of cases claiming damages and it’s important I say that on the record,” he said.

If Mr Adams was successful with a compensation bid, it could result in a six-figure payout.

This would cover both his unlawful detention and a prosecution for attempted escapes, for which he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment.

Earlier in the Commons, former Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said the Policy Exchange report raised significant concerns.

The Conservative MP urged the government to “return to the previous cross-party position” to block such compensation.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he had seen the report but added that the approach in the Legacy Act had been found unlawful.

“Of course, as the last government did, we will continue to see if we can find a lawful way of dealing with the issue he has identified,” said Benn.

Meanwhile the attorney general for England and Wales was asked during an appearance at the Commons Justice Committee about previously acting as a legal representative for Mr Adams.

Lord Hermer said he wasn’t “inclined” to answer questions on how he was remunerated for his work for “any given client”.

“I did represent Gerry Adams on something unconnected to the legacy… at the same time I was representing the family of a young British soldier murdered by the IRA in the 1970s,” he said.

“Both clients understood the importance of being able to represent everybody, that’s what a legal system is all about.”

The act was the government’s controversial attempt to “draw a line” under the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It was first proposed by the then prime minister Boris Johnson in 2021 as a solution to ending what he called “vexatious prosecutions” of former soldiers.

It was passed in 2023, but was opposed by victims’ groups and all the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

The act created a new legacy body known as the ICRIR to take over all Troubles-era cases from 1 May 2024, including those on the desk of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

It also shut down all historical inquests.

The act’s most controversial element, the offer of conditional immunity to suspects, was disapplied following legal action by bereaved families.

The court ruled this part of the act was incompatible with human rights’ legislation and the Windsor Framework.

Labour pledged to repeal the Legacy Act if they won the general election in July and formally began that process in December.

A Supreme Court judgement in 2020 paved the way for Mr Adams to receive damages after it quashed his convictions over two attempted prison break-outs.

It ruled his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) had not been “considered personally” by the then Northern Ireland Secretary Willie Whitelaw.

At the time, the Conservative government argued the ICOs were lawful due to a convention known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of a secretary of state.

A clause was inserted into the Legacy Act, blocking payouts to Mr Adams and about 400 other people interned in similar error.