Express’ veterans campaign success as Starmer ‘to block’ Adams from claiming compensation
Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly planning to introduce a law that will prevent Gerry Adams from receiving compensation over his detention as a suspected terrorist in the 1970s. The Government is in the process of repealing the Legacy Act, a measure introduced by the Conservatives to draw a line under the Troubles, which Labour claim is in breach of international law.
The Daily Express has led a campaign to urge the government to leave the act in place in order to protect veterans from spurious criminal and civil prosecutions, with a petition to do so gaining more than 163,000 signatures. On Monday, Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Francois challenged the Government on their plans to endanger veterans while simultaneously helping Gerry Adams sue the British taxpayer. He said: “With support from the Express and others, the petition now has more than 160,000 signatures and will be debated in Parliament on 14 July.
Details on how Labour plan to implement the law remain unclear (Image: Getty)
“Which Minister will respond to that debate, so that we can ask them why the Government’s current remedial order is drafted to help the likes of Gerry Adams sue the British taxpayer while throwing our veterans to the wolves?”
Earlier this year, a Northern Irish High Court ruled the act was incompatible with human rights laws, which opened the Government up to a legal challenge from people such as Gerry Adams who were interned without trial during the Troubles.
Mr Adams, who has consistently denied being a member of the IRA, was one of hundreds detained during the Troubles suspected of involvement in terrorism amid sectarian violence.
Following the announcement, the Prime Minister vowed to stop Adams and others receiving huge sums of taxpayers’ money, without specifying how he intended to do so.
A Conservative source at the time told the Daily Express: “They can’t say how they will do it because they know that they can’t. If they amend the act, he will get a payout and veterans will get two fingers up to them.”
It has since been reported by the Telegraph that the Prime Minister has sanctioned a legal change that aims to reinstate the Tory Government’s block on the former Sinn Féin leader’s compensation without breaching human rights laws.
Adams rejects claims that he was a member of the IRA (Image: Getty)
A government source said: “Both the Prime Minister and Government have been very clear that we are looking at every conceivable way to lawfully address this issue.
“What we are effectively doing is bringing back what the previous Government did but in a lawful way in primary legislation.”
In response, Francois told the Daily Express: “We have campaigned, alongside the Express, against Two Tier Justice which pursues our Veterans, but helps Gerry Adams potentially sue the taxpayer.
“This latest report, which suggests the Government is now hesitating over helping Adams, is not yet confirmed.
“But we have Northern Ireland Questions on Wednesday in the House of Commons, so perhaps we can obtain clarity then, about whether their position has really changed or not.”
