There are many things that all of us living in Northern Ireland have in common regardless of our differences of political opinion, national or cultural identity including religion, or social/economic status.

One of those things, even if we are not equally attuned to it, has to be that we are all held in equal and total contempt by successive British Governments who have dismissed the idea that any of us, as UK Citizens, might be of equal standing and equal entitlement to the benefits and protections of the State as English people whose UK citizenship pre-dates the 1801 Act of Union.

The same might be said of the people of both Scotland and Wales who, unlike us, form part of the Kingdom of ‘Great Britain’ as opposed to ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ but who tend not to have added to the problem by being ungovernable.

Nothing portrays that arrogant contempt more completely than the ‘Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023’.

‘Legacy’ is defined as the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past. At a personal level, our legacy is what our loved ones and family members inherit when we are no more. The legacy of family and friends of those whose lives were taken not ‘lost’ since the mid-sixties is one of heartbreak, pain, grief, intergenerational trauma and anger and yet also indomitable spirit and endurance in seeking, not revenge, but justice for their loved ones. The depth of the sense of injustice felt by all victims’ families and the added betrayal by the State of those who support its existence is palpable The United Kingdom controls the place in which ‘the troubles’ happened and their neglect of previous injustices bears significant responsibility for the consequences of that. What degree of insulation from the real world or crass indifference to the lives of plain people permits the UK Government to believe we should be reconciled to injustice or to the withholding of due process of law in seeking justice? It is not for the perpetrator to trade justice for reconciliation without the express and individual consent of those who carry the traumatic legacy of the victims of war.

It is not the case that no one in N. Ireland has ever been held to account before the court for their actions. Thousands have and have been found guilty as charged, sentenced, and deprived of their liberty. The issue at the heart of the demand for Justice by families of victims, twenty –five years after ‘The Peace, ’ is that no explanation that sits within any understanding of Justice exists as to why others have not. There is also broad public consensus and a growing body of reliable evidence to support the growing consensus that the explanation lies within the role of the State itself and that individual perpetrators, both before or after the events were protected and enabled by the State itself. This included those in State Agencies like the British Army, Military Intelligence and the Police here and in Britain.

‘The Appalling Vista’ was how Lord Denning described such a possibility in 1976 when dismissing the appeal of the ‘Birmingham Six. He said in his court ruling:

‘’ If the six men win, it will mean that the police are guilty of perjury, that they are guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were invented and improperly admitted in evidence and the convictions were erroneous... This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say that it cannot be right….”

He also added: "We shouldn’t (wouldn’t) have all these campaigns to get the Birmingham Six released if they'd been hanged. They'd have been forgotten and the whole community would have been satisfied."

How’s that for a judicial comment?

It would take another 25 years in the pursuit of justice to prove that the police had indeed done all the things Lord Denning believed to be beyond belief, and for him to admit “Midlands Police force had let us all down.” It took 30 years to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that in 1972 that murder was committed on the streets of Derry by members of the Parachute Regiment. Those who perpetrated both offences are now protected effectively by Amnesty from prosecution.

The growing body of evidence being extracted by diligent legal scrutiny on behalf of families determined to see justice for their loved ones points to even more appalling vistas- the possibility and growing probability that the State routinely protected individuals within the armed republican and armed loyalist organisations, enabling them to and beyond the point of murdering the citizens of the State.

What if the truth is that the State didn’t just let it happen through neglect, they actively protected the people who did it?

Why would they do that?

How many attacks and deaths were to advance the interest of the State?

How many were swept under the carpet to keep ‘useful informants onside?

How many protected perpetrators exist?

How many victims were sacrificed to protect them?

How many people- victims turned perpetrators - went to war and joined the UDA / UVF or IRA / INLA because the war came to their door and took a life?

Was the UK State protecting, even enabling those who planned and executed the Enniskillen bomb; the Omagh Bomb; the Monaghan Bomb; and the Dublin bombs? Did the State enable the Peace by permitting difficult individuals to be removed on both sides; old scores settled and income generated before signing off?

These are the questions that now torture the bereaved as if they were not already in enough pain. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023’ only adds weight to the deep fear that the continued pursuit of justice is likely to expose an appalling vista beyond even our comprehension.

If that is the case, the British Army and the Police are not the only organisations now sleeping easier in their beds, and I wouldn’t count on the Irish Government rushing to the International Court of Justice.

I wish every family currently taking legal action against this legislation Peace, Justice and Truth. They are not mutually incompatible