Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said any compensation he receives from Britain as a former Troubles internee will be donated to good causes.
Mr Adams has said he will continue to pursue a case against the UK government even though he has “no personal interest in compensation for myself”.
British think tank Policy Exchange recently warned that removing a block on former Troubles internees seeking compensation would deliver a taxpayer-funded pay day for ex-detainees. It published a report criticising the government’s proposed repeal of legislation that had put a stop to such civil claims.
The relevant sections of the Legacy Act had been agreed by the Houses of Parliament in 2023 in response to a Supreme Court judgment in 2020 that paved the way for Mr Adams to secure compensation over his internment without trial in the early 1970s.
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Mr 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 government contended that the ICOs were lawful because of a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the secretary of state.
Mr Adams subsequently successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.
However, the Legacy Act stopped such payouts to Mr Adams and other former internees.
The Act retrospectively validated the ICOs to make them lawful and halted civil claims related to the orders.
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.
The current UK government has not appealed that judgment and has tabled a remedial order in Parliament that will repeal various parts of the Legacy Act, including the sections on ICOs.
However, UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has since said he is looking at “every conceivable way” to stop former Troubles internees such as Mr Adams from seeking compensation.
In an article written for Tribune magazine, Mr Adams said it was now “obvious” the Labour government would not get rid of the Legacy Act.
“The Act states that no one can take a civil action or continue with one already in place if the person bringing the action claims that their imprisonment occurred because an interim custody order was unlawfully signed,” he said.
“Most of the major parties on the island, along with the Irish Government, victims’ groups and human rights organisations, have opposed the law.
“Many correctly saw it as an effort by the British government to protect its forces and agents and politicians.
“While in opposition, the British Labour Party committed to getting rid of the Legacy Act. It is obvious now they will not do this.”
Mr Adams said Mr Starmer’s stated intention to attempt to stop him gaining compensation “will come as no surprise to those in Ireland and in countless other states around the world who have experienced British colonial law”.
He added: “So I will continue to pursue this case. I have no personal interest in compensation for myself.
“If any comes to me at the end of this process, I will donate it to good causes.”
