The British government's Legacy Bill condemned

The British government's Legacy Bill has been condemned as an "attempt to close down access to the courts and legal remedies for hundreds of people illegally and unlawfully detained by the state".

Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy (Sinn Féin) described the Legacy Bill as tearing up the law and making a mockery of justice.

He added: "The British government has announced its intention to bolt on yet another amendment to its already fatally flawed Legacy Bill which would prevent hundreds of people illegally and unlawfully interned from seeking legal redress for wrongful imprisonment.

 “This latest addition to the British government’s infamous Legacy Bill, which will prevent victims of the conflict and their families from accessing criminal courts, inquests, human rights compliant investigations and civil proceedings, makes an absolute mockery of justice and claims that this Bill can promote reconciliation.

 “Interning people without trial in the first place was shameful and it was used initially to target only one section of the community. 

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 “The British Supreme Court has ruled that the British government broke the law in illegally and unlawfully detaining hundreds of people during the early 1970s," he said.

Mr Delargy said there was a moral and legal onus on the state to provide redress to those people who were unlawfully detained because it had broken the law.

He said: "Instead of righting this wrong, facing up to its legal responsibilities and accepting the judgment of its highest court, this British government is effectively tearing up the law, closing access to the courts while relentlessly pursuing amnesty for the actions of its forces in Ireland.

 “The Legacy Bill is a travesty of justice, it should be scrapped. It has been rejected by victims and families, human rights experts, the UN, all the political parties on this island, as well as officials in the US and EU.

 “The British government should scrap this legislation and get on with implementing the legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House by the two governments and political parties in 2014 in a human rights' compliant manner.”