The trouble with the Troubles bill is it distorts the past

H istory in Ireland is a poker you keep about you to batter the present senseless and so reorder the past. And the latest Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, back in the Commons, is another such doomed historical folly. A means of distorting rather than determining the past. Families and victims have, in the words of the singularly inept Northern Ireland secretary, Sir Chris Bryant, waited far too long for clear and “transparent answers” to the mysteries of who murdered their relatives. Most commented 1 Forgotten particle may hold key to how universe survived big bang Science 245 comments 2 Lily Allen: ‘I felt I was a vehicle for male pleasure — not my own’ Music 238 comments 3 ‘We got a call yesterday. Birth mum’s had another baby’ Parenting 32 comments 4 Doctor Who and me — Russell T Davies on his life in TV Books 24 comments 5 Budget 2026 predictions: when is it and what could be announced? Economics 235 comments But, given the distance in time — some of these killings date back nearly 60 years to the early 1970s — can anyone seriously believe there are in the old files new leads to be uncovered? And old gunmen to be prosecuted? Or the wider interest of justice to be served? Top stories 1 16 of the best safaris in Africa Africa Inevitably, short of a public confession by senior republican figures such as Gerry Adams about what they knew of IRA activity, any legally viable investigations will focus on state force killings by British Army soldiers : that is where there is a trail of paperwork to follow. So we will create a false hierarchy of victims highlighting British Army “crimes” rather than republican killings. And thus distort Irish history again. Was not every life lost in the Troubles of equal value? Advertisement In reality the IRA were responsible for over 49 per cent — 1,696 — of all the killings during the Troubles while the British security forces killed about 500. Over 1,100 members of the security forces were killed as opposed to 400 members of the IRA. A remarkable figure, for a small war, when western military forces usually inflict far greater losses, 1:10, on insurgent forces. Top stories 1 Prepare now for the inheritance tax mess coming for your pension Tax Aside from the lucrative lawyer fees — the UK taxpayer will be paying for both sides — what is the overall purpose of this partial re-litigating of the past ? If anyone thinks this will lead to some form of truth and reconciliation, then a short visit to the divorce courts should persuade them otherwise. This legacy bill, although full of sound and fury, signifies nothing. Nor will it serve the interests of justice in Northern Ireland. The bitter truth is that the dead of the Troubles are not coming back and the cruelty and injustices of their deaths cannot now in our present be healed. Rather, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, it is our duty now to rededicate ourselves to the task of ensuring that the futile horrors of the Troubles shall never return . And that we bring an end to political murder in Ireland for ever. Kevin Toolis is the author of Rebel Hearts: Journeys Within the IRA’s Soul