Eastwood: British must return to agreed legacy structures

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has repeated his call on the British Secretary of State Brandon Lewis to commit to honouring the agreed structures for dealing with the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Mr Eastwood said that it is not acceptable for Brandon Lewis to unilaterally withdraw from commitments made under the Stormont House Agreement in order to shield former soldiers from justice.

Speaking after 3,500 bereaved relatives supported an open letter on legacy, the Foyle MP: “The British Government’s attitude to legacy is tone deaf.

“In spite of agreed structures, institutions and processes for dealing with the legacy of conflict in the North, which represent a substantial compromise by all parties, Brandon Lewis has made statements which amount to a unilateral withdrawal from those commitments.

“The way victims have been treated over the course of the last year is a disgrace and the Secretary of State should be ashamed.

“The failure to engage with them and with their representatives is an appalling dereliction of responsibility.

“This is not the first time that those who lost loved ones have been forced to rebuke the government.

“It’s time they started listening to the experience of victims and their families rather than seeking to insulate a particular group from justice.”

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