King's Speech 2026: Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

Wednesday, 13 May 2026 12:23

The legacy of the Troubles continues to be deeply felt by victims, those who served in Northern Ireland and wider society. This Bill is needed because the previous Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (the ‘Legacy Act') was flawed and left our veterans without any lawful protection and exposed to a legal Wild West. The Government will address the unfinished business from the Good Friday Agreement. Too many families – including...Request free trial

The legacy of the Troubles continues to be deeply felt by victims, those who served in Northern Ireland and wider society. This Bill is needed because the previous Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (the ‘Legacy Act') was flawed and left our veterans without any lawful protection and exposed to a legal Wild West.

The Government will address the unfinished business from the Good Friday Agreement. Too many families – including hundreds of Armed Forces families –are still looking for answers about what happened to their loved ones during the Troubles.

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. This will be supported by the fullest possible disclosure by the Irish authorities for investigations conducted by the Commission. It will ensure that nobody receives immunity for terrorist crimes; and puts in place the strongest safeguards for veterans and all who served to bring about peace.

What does the Bill do?

The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will enable victims and bereaved families across the UK to seek information and accountability through a reformed Legacy Commission. As we approach three decades since the Good Friday Agreement, this Bill delivers on one of its final aims.

The previous government's Legacy Act was widely opposed across communities in Northern Ireland and was rejected by domestic courts. Its ‘immunity scheme' was ruled against and was never commenced, causing legal uncertainty and therefore not providing protection for veterans. It sought to offer immunity to terrorists as well as veterans, and so was seen by many as an affront to the rule of law that our security forces sought to protect. All of this undermined trust and confidence in the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

The Bill will:

Establish a reformed Legacy Commission (reconstituted from the ICRIR) that all victims and families can have confidence in. It will have powers to investigate and fact-find for families affected by the Troubles,

right across the UK. This means that many more families, including bereaved families of service personnel, will have the opportunity to obtain information they have long sought. The Commission will have new governance arrangements, a statutory victims and survivors advisory group and new conflict of interest duties.

Create new lawful protections for our veterans. These will apply to security forces personnel who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and who are asked to give information, ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect. For instance, there will be an end to cold-calling, and veterans being asked to travel to Northern Ireland to give evidence, and there will be no needless duplication of previous investigations.

Deliver a fair disclosure regime, ensuring that the Commission has all it needs to find answers for families and to make public the maximum possible information without risking life or national security. Parallel Irish legislation will also provide for the fullest possible information sharing by the Irish authorities with the Legacy Commission.

Restore a limited number of inquests which had started but were stopped by the Legacy Act and put in place practical and deliverable safeguards for those who are required to engage. Inquests that had not started will be referred to the Solicitor General to independently consider whether, in each case, they are most appropriately dealt with by the Legacy Commission or in the coronial system.

Create a new process within the Commission to handle cases that transfer from the coronial system. Consistent with the approach in the Inquiries Act, but benefitting from economies of scale and specific legacy expertise, the Commission will have provision for public hearings, the ability to consider sensitive information in closed hearings and will provide effective next of kin participation, including through legal representation.

Establish an Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR), jointly with the Irish Government, and consistent with the Stormont House Agreement. This will, initially on a pilot basis, provide families with an additional means to retrieve information. Any information disclosed by individuals to the ICIR will be inadmissible in criminal and civil proceedings.

Leave in place Part 4 of the Legacy Act which will ensure that the provisions regarding oral history, academic research and the

memorialisation of the Troubles remain intact.

The Bill delivers on the Joint Framework agreed with the Irish Government in September 2025. As part of this, the Irish Government committed to: establishing a dedicated unit within An Garda Síochána (AGS) for Troubles-related cases as a central point of contact for families; AGS investigating all unresolved Troubles-related incidents within its jurisdiction; ensuring that any potential investigative opportunities are proactively pursued; and facilitating the fullest possible information sharing between the Irish authorities and the Legacy Commission.

The dedicated unit within AGS has now been established, and the Irish Government will shortly publish its legislative proposal on cross-border cooperation between the Irish authorities and the reformed Legacy Commission, as well as the establishment of the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval.

Territorial extent and application

The majority of the Bill will extend and apply to the whole of the UK, with some small elements, such as Inquests, extending and applying to Northern Ireland only.

Key facts

All 966 ongoing civil claims are against the state, not individuals. This includes 123 cases halted by the Legacy Act, which the courts found to be incompatible with our legal obligations. Even cases made against alleged agents are made against the state, not individuals. The Government estimates that for cases since 2020 in which the Ministry of Defence is the defendant, only five veterans have attended court. It is highly unusual for claims to be issued against personally named defendants – in rare instances where this happened, the Ministry of Defence has succeeded in having the individual defendant struck out.

Over 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, although the exact number of Troubles related deaths is disputed and differs between sources. Paramilitaries are responsible for over 3,000 of these deaths, including over 1,700 attributed to the IRA.

Of the more than 3,500 deaths, over 1,000 were UK security forces personnel, with many more seriously injured. A third of the killings, among them some of the most heinous terrorist attacks in our history, remain unsolved.

During the Troubles, an estimated 25,000 - 35,000 republicans and loyalists were imprisoned for a range of offences, including murder. During the same period, four members of the British Army were convicted of murder and one of thoseconvictionswasoverturnedonappeal.

The Law Society for Northern Ireland “welcomes the revised framework and that the Bill will amend the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. The Society considers that the new framework and draft Bill represent an important opportunity for the UK and Ireland to deliver a bilateral, victims-centred and human rights compliant approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland, with the aim of delivering truth and justice to victims and survivors of the Troubles.”

The Royal British Legion ‘are pleased the Government will be introducing safeguards to protect veterans from repeated investigations, and measures to consider the health and wellbeing of those involved in investigations, while ensuring bereaved Armed Forces families can continue to pursue answers to their longstanding questions'.