Family of Derry bomb victim urges new Prime Minister to keep election pledge to scrap Legacy Act

The family of a Derry man killed during the Troubles has called on the new government to repeal the Legacy Act.

The controversial act, introduced by the Conservative government, shut down all historical inquests and has prevented new civil cases from being lodged in court.

The act also offered conditional immunity to suspects of Troubles related crimes.

Before their landslide general election victory, the Labour Party had pledged to scrap the act.

One Derry family has urged the new Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer to keep that pledge.

Rosaleen Dalton, whose father Eugene Dalton was killed by an explosion in Derry on August 31, 1988, when he and two others entered his neighbour’s home out of concern for the missing residents, unaware that it had been booby-trapped by the IRA in an attempt to lure and kill security forces, believes it is imperative to hold the Labour government to their promise.

She said: “I hope they stick to their promise. I would really like to hope that they will.

“I think to reinstate all those cases; for our case, there is nothing that can be done; it was never going to go any further than it did, and the result for us was not good.

“I think for other families, it is important to get things up and running again, not just for inquests but for civil cases too.

“There are new people coming forward all the time who may only have found the courage to say, 'Something happened here; it is not right; it has happened to my family; it is about time there is an investigation into it’ and maybe that then gives them heart to come forward as well.

“People are afraid to say anything now because they feel they have nowhere to go with it.

“I do hope that the likes of Colum Eastwood, Sinn Fein, and the DUP, along with all the parties in Stormont, they are all against it. I hope they are all going to keep pressure on the government, but I believe that the ICRIR needs to be done away.”

The ICRIR (Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery) was made responsible for all legacy investigations and became operational in May under Sir Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland.

However, the need to return to inquests is shared among those who were in opposition to the Legacy Act.

One such organisation in opposition to the act is the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC).

PFC acts on behalf of families across all communities. Their focus is to offer support to any family bereaved as a result of the conflict on the island of Ireland, and their services are free of charge.

Ms. Dalton said organisations like the PFC are essential to helping people come forward in the future who have been impacted by the Troubles and may not have the courage currently.

And PFC made a statement about the importance of the Labour government adhering to their promise about the Legacy Act.

It said: “Now is the time for Labour to live up to their manifesto promises and repeal the shameful Legacy Act.

“Labour have committed to reinstate legacy inquests and civil actions. They have, however, also intimated that they would not close the ICRIR.

“Once the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has been appointed, PFC and JFF will urgently seek a meeting to outline why this is not enough.

“We will be advocating for the total repeal of the Legacy Act—not just certain sections; reinstatement of inquests, civil actions, and Police Ombudsman investigatory powers over legacy cases; No more amnesty/ limited immunity deals for perpetrators; we need proper Art. 2 compliant investigations. An approach to dealing with that is victim-centred, human rights-compliant, and adopts the principles agreed in the Stormont House Agreement.

“Legacy must now be resolved. All families and society have waited too long for a proper and positive solution to deal with our past.”