Relatives of Troubles victims protest at Stormont and police HQ

Relatives of victims killed or injured in the Troubles have held protests at Stormont and outside the headquarters of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to oppose controversial plans to end prosecutions linked to the conflict.

The demonstrations outside the Northern Ireland Office at Stormont House and the nearby PSNI headquarters in east Belfast were timed to mark International Human Rights Day.

In July, the British government published a paper outlining its intention to prohibit future prosecutions of military veterans and ex-paramilitaries for Troubles incidents predating April 1998.

“Domestically and internationally in law they have been discredited and yet it looks like the British government are just going to railroad them through,” said Time for Truth campaigner Niall Ó Murchú.

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"They're worse than anything that happened under Pinochet in South America many years ago. Internationally, they are the worst set of legacy proposals in terms of any post-conflict situation. They're just absolutely outrageous."

The demonstration at Stormont House focused on the government’s contentious legacy plans while the protest at the PSNI HQ criticised ongoing delays in resolving long-running cases. Letters were handed in.

So far, the British government has insisted that the criminal justice system is not delivering for Troubles victims and families, since so many of those involved are now dead, or ill.

‘Truth recovery model’

A so-called “truth recovery model” would help bereaved families to learn more about the deaths of their loved ones, it insists, though draft legislation due in the autumn has not yet been published.

British prime minister Boris Johnson has said the government plan – which would also see an end to inquests and civil actions – would allow Northern Ireland to "draw a line under the Troubles".

The proposals have been opposed by all of the main parties at Stormont, including the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionists, the Irish Government and many victim groups.