Adams confirms legal action against Government block on internment payout

Gerry Adams is to take legal action against the Government’s proposed retrospective law change to block him securing compensation for being interned during the Troubles.

The former Sinn Fein president has confirmed the move in response to the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which seeks to prevent him and others detained without trial from seeking payouts based on a judicial decision that ruled their internment unlawful on a legal technicality.

On Tuesday evening, the veteran republican said he would be consulting with lawyers to explore what legal options there are, both in the UK and Europe, to challenge the move.

On Wednesday, he confirmed that he intended to mount a legal challenge.

“I have instructed my legal team that it is my intention to pursue legal action against Keir Starmer’s decision to retrospectively change a law which a Conservative government broke over 50 years ago,” he said.

Mr Adams highlighted that the measure was included in a Bill that also introduced new “protections” designed to address concerns of military veterans who are asked to engage in legacy mechanisms in Northern Ireland.

The measures include the option of witnesses giving evidence remotely.

The former Sinn Fein leader accused the UK of “hypocrisy and duplicity”, claiming it was legislating to “protect British soldiers and RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) officers from facing the legal consequences of their criminal actions”.

A Supreme Court judgment in 2020 initially paved the way for Mr Adams to secure compensation over his internment in the early 1970s.

He won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.

The Supreme Court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw.

At the time of the case, the previous government contended that the ICOs were lawful because of a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the secretary of state.

Mr Adams subsequently successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.

However, the 2023 Legacy Act introduced by the last Conservative government stopped such payouts to Mr Adams and other former internees.

The Act retrospectively validated the ICOs to make them lawful and halted civil claims related to the orders.

However, in February last year, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the provisions of the Act related to the ICOs were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Labour Government did not appeal against that section of the High Court judgment but instead pledged to find a lawful means to block payouts.

The Troubles Bill presented to Parliament on Tuesday proposes to reaffirm the so-called Carltona principle into law, a move the Government believes will prevent payouts.

While the Legacy Act’s provisions in relation to ICOs, sections 46 and 47, were ruled incompatible with the ECHR by the High Court, the Government is retaining those sections on the statute book until such time as the Troubles Bill becomes law.

The Bill also gives legislative effect to several measures contained in a joint framework for dealing with the legacy of the Troubles recently agreed by the UK and Irish governments.

In response to Mr Adams’ legal move, a spokesperson for the Government said: “We believe that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Adams that the Carltona principle did not apply to interim custody orders was an incorrect interpretation of Parliament’s intention.

“This week, we have introduced legislation to clearly reaffirm that principle for these cases, making it clear in the law that detentions were legitimate and lawful.”