The legacy Act gives an amnesty to murderers and blocks the families of murdered civilians from achieving justice. It is the son and heir of the cover-up by the British Army and RUC for some of the most heinous crimes in the North. It is unilateral action that actually undermines human law and human justice. It turns Britain into an outlier and indeed a rogue state. It is heaping more pain and suffering on so many families, who have already suffered so terribly under the hands of the British state. Today is the one-year anniversary of the Act. Sean Brown was abducted outside a GAA club in Bellaghy, County Derry, and shot dead by loyalists in 1997. Intelligence has clearly linked British state agents to the murder. The British Government is doing all it can to frustrate the inquiry. The Irish Government, under pressure from Aontú and other groups, took a case against the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights on the legacy Act. What is happening with this case and when can the families who have been wronged so terribly receive justice?

On the legacy Act, the Irish Government took a case not because of pressure from any political party but because it believes in international law, human rights and the Good Friday Agreement. We took one in a very difficult situation. We did not want to find ourselves in that position, but I can report to the House very good and constructive engagement between me and the Secretary of State on behalf of our respective Governments to try to get to a better place on legacy. The Irish Government’s clear landing zone here is that if there is to be an agreed position between the British and Irish Governments, it will have to be human rights compliant and try to bring victims and their families with us. I believe the next few weeks will show it is possible.

Specifically on the Sean Brown case, I have read the statement of the Secretary of State on Sean Brown. I understand the Secretary of State has filed applications with the Court of Appeal seeking an extension of time for decision-making and seeking protective leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in the case brought by Bridie Brown, whose husband was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1997. However, as I said to the Secretary of State in private last week – I also said it publicly at our joint press conference – the Brown family has waited far too long to find out the truth about what happened to Sean Brown. We are approaching the 28th anniversary of his murder and, in the absence of an effective investigation into his death, which the UK Government has not yet agreed to, the passage of time makes it absolutely and increasingly pressing. Bridie Brown has shown enormous strength in pursuing this case through every available channel and I intend to continue to pursue it also.