Written question asked by Karl Turner (Independent (affiliation)) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications of the Dillon judgement for his Department's policies.

Answer: The Supreme Court confirmed that the ICRIR is capable of delivering human rights-compliant investigations, and reaffirmed the Government’s position on the interpretation and application of Article 2 of the Windsor Framework. The judgment also showed that the Government was right to address the main flaws in the Legacy Act - namely the immunity scheme - which was wrong in principle and never came into force. While the question of immunity was not before the Supreme Court, the Court chose to refute the main argument put forward for it. Following the judgment, it is clear that the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill is the only viable way to generate confidence across communities, enable information sharing by the Irish authorities and put in place the necessary safeguards for our former service personnel.

Secondary information