Irish Examiner view: Troubles killings amnesty is alarming

British government's plan is a shocking betrayal of the families of victims and  a major setback for the peace process

Mickey McKinney speaks earlier this month to the media outside the City Hotel in Derry, with his brothers, John (left) and Joe (right) watched by solicitor Fearghal Shiels, after the prosecution of two former soldiers over three deaths during Northern Ireland's troubled past were halted. File picture

The British government’s plan to end all prosecutions for killings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland is an alarming decision. The move is intended to protect certain British military personnel. Little wonder that it was broadly welcomed by the retired British army chief, Richard Dannatt, who told the BBC that it provides “a mechanism whereby investigations can continue so that families who lost loved ones during the Troubles get to know what happened but without the fear of prosecution being held above the heads of military veterans”.

That was also the focus of prime minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons, lamenting that “there are many members of the armed services who continue to face the threat of vexatious prosecutions well into their 70s, 80s, and later, and we’re finally bringing forward a solution to this problem”. However, it has wider consequences than this as it will also apply to paramilitaries.