UK PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has said that he will “look at every conceivable way” to stop former Troubles internees claiming compensation after a London-based think tank warned ex-Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is in line for “a payday from the taxpayer”.
Starmer was responding to criticism of his government’s proposed repeal of legislation that had put a stop to such civil claims.
Currently, the law under the UK’s contentious Legacy Act blocks Adams and roughly 400 others interned without trial in the 1970s from claiming compensation for unlawful detention - but Belfast’s High Court ruled parts of it were against the European Convention on Human Rights.
If Adams is successful in pursuing compensation, it is thought that it could result in a six-figure payout, covering both his unlawful detention and prosecution for attempted escapes.
Policy Exchange, a London-based think tank, has criticised moves to lift the block.
Adams won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned without trial in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.
The Supreme Court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw.
At the time of the case, the previous Conservative government contended that the ICOs were lawful due to a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the UK Secretary of State.
Adams then successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.
However, sections of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, agreed by the UK government in 2023 in response to the court ruling, have blocked Gerry Adams from receiving compensation.
However, in February last year, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the provisions of the Act related to the ICOs were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Labour, which has begun the process of repealing the Legacy Act, said the previous government’s approach to legacy was “almost universally opposed in Northern Ireland”.
Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, said that the decision to repeal the law underlined “the government’s absolute commitment to the Human Rights Act”.
Should the change to the Legacy Act be endorsed by parliament, Adams is highly likely to pursue compensation.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that Starmer’s government “may write a cheque to compensate Gerry Adams”.
“This is shameful,” she told the House of Commons.
Responding to Badenoch, Starmer said the Legacy Act was “unfit, not least because it gave immunity to hundreds of terrorists and wasn’t supported by victims in Northern Ireland, nor, I believe, by any of the political parties in Northern Ireland”.
“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,” Starmer added.
Johnathan Caine, a former government advisor to three Northern Ireland secretaries, has also urged the UK government to rethink it’s planned Legacy Act repeal.
Caine said the Labour move was “inexplicable” as the party had “never opposed the amendment” to the Legacy Act addressing compensation.
“They have made a political decision,” he told reporters.
“When the legislation is changed there will almost certainly be further legal process in the courts before there is clarity on this matter,” he said.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn said that “nobody wants to see” compensation being paid to Adams for his detention, but defended Labour’s decision to repeal the act.
“Nobody wants to see that but the Supreme Court judgment which ruled that the interim custody orders following internment were not lawfully put in place, in which the Carltona principle was much discussed, was in 2020,” Benn said.
“The last government did nothing about that for three years until they belatedly accepted an amendment in the House of Lords which has now been found to be unlawful.”
Gerry Adams has said he is not surprised the UK Government would seek to “dodge its lawful and human rights responsibilities” in respect of compensating him and other Troubles internees.
“When the legislation is changed there will almost certainly be further legal process in the courts before there is clarity on this matter,” Adams said today.
With additional reporting from PA.
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