MPs Overturn Attempts to Scrap Offender Immunity in Legacy Bill

Peers had voted to scrap saving those accused of Troubles-related crimes if they provided evidence

Patricia Burns, whose father Thomas Burns was shot dead by a British soldier in 1972 with other Time for Truth and Justice campaigners outside the Northern Ireland Office at Erskine House in Belfast on May 11, 2023. PA Media

MPs have overturned attempts to remove a conditional immunity provision from contentious legislation aimed at halting post-conflict prosecutions in Northern Ireland.

The House of Lords had voted to tear up an element of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, which offers those accused of Troubles-related crimes immunity from being prosecuted if they cooperate with a new truth-recovery body.