Labour backlash over Northern Ireland Troubles Bill with ex-defence minister Al Carns 'set to defy Andy Burnham and rebel against plans'

Labour 's former defence minister Al Carns is set to rebel against the Government over the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. The ex-Royal Marine has tabled an amendment to the legislation that would bring to an end costly inquests being handled outside a new Legacy Commission. Mr Carns said his proposed change would save taxpayers a 'huge amount of money' and be a more 'balanced and proportionate' way of dealing with Troubles issues. But his amendment is not expected to be accepted by the Government, meaning it could trigger a vote when the Bill returns to the House of Commons early next week. MPs' scrutiny of the Bill began in the previous parliamentary session, but it did not pass all its legislative stages before the session ended in April. The Commons last night voted to continue the Bill's progress in the new session, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham appearing in the chamber for the debate. Labour's former defence minister Al Carns is set to rebel against the Government over the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles Bill Opening a Commons debate on Tuesday, Sir Chris Bryant, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said the Bill was needed to allow families who lost loved ones in the Troubles to get answers If passed, the Bill will overhaul the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which was introduced by the previous Tory government. Labour took the action after the High Court in Belfast ruled that parts of the 2023 Act were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The former Conservative administration was in the process of appealing that decision, but Labour dropped the appeal after the 2024 general election. Mr Carns quit the Government in June in a dispute over defence funding, while he also cited his opposition to the Troubles Bill as one of his reasons for resigning. His amendment to the Bill would transfer current inquests to the new Legacy Commission - a new body to investigate deaths in Northern Ireland and provide answers for families. This is in contrast to the current Government legislation, which would continue these inquests and send only new cases to the Legacy Commission. He told the Telegraph: 'This amendment creates one simplified, centralised route to truth, reconciliation and justice, saves the Government a huge amount of money and allows us to solve some of the issues with the Troubles in a balanced and proportionate manner.' Mr Carns also told The Times that inquests were costing between £20million and £200million each and they were 'open to political persuasion'. 'We end up with pretty outrageous decisions, veterans are put under immense pressure and while the chance of prosecution is vanishingly small, the process is the punishment of the inquests,' he added. David Johnstone, who Labour appointed as the Northern Ireland veterans commissioner last year, is backing Mr Carns' amendment in a bid to prevent ex-soldiers facing 'lawfare on steroids'. 'Because the coronial system allows for appeals, judicial reviews, all the way up to the Supreme Court, and families can access legal aid, it is lawfare on steroids,' he added. 'We do not want veterans exposed to year after year of investigations when there is absolutely no evidence they have done anything wrong.' On Tuesday night, opposition MPs criticised the lack of time being given to examine the more than 100 amendments that have been put forward by the Government itself. Tory shadow Northern Ireland secretary Alex Burghart branded the Bill 'a mess in the process of becoming a bigger mess'. Tory former minister Sir David Davis demanded the Government 'drop this evil Bill and start again'. 'This vexatious use of lawfare is designed with one intent: it is to represent the behaviour of IRA killers, murderers, vicious psychopathic murderers, as somehow liberators, heroes, by destroying the reputations of our own soldiers,' he said. Opening the Commons debate on Tuesday, Sir Chris Bryant, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said the Bill was needed to allow families who lost loved ones in the Troubles to get answers. He said: 'I don't think we can ever really build a strong future for Northern Ireland unless we fully understand the past, and understanding the past means making sure that we get answers for people.' Amendments put forward by the Government include one giving the UK Attorney General final say on whether Troubles-related prosecutions should go ahead.