Government to block Adams internment compensation

The government has confirmed it will bring in legislation to block former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams from receiving compensation over his internment in the 1970s.

The Legacy Act blocked Adams - and many others interned without trial in the 1970s - from claiming compensation for unlawful detention.

The government is in the process of repealing the Legacy Act , a move that could have enabled the former detainees to pursue compensation.

However, the government is to bring in a legal change that aims to reinstate the former Conservative government's block without breaching human rights laws.

A Supreme Court judgement in 2020 paved the way for Mr Adams to receive damages after it quashed his convictions over two attempted prison break-outs.

It ruled his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) had not been "considered personally" by the then Northern Ireland Secretary Willie Whitelaw.

At the time, the Conservative government argued the ICOs were lawful due to a convention known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of a secretary of state.

A clause was inserted into the Legacy Act, blocking payouts to Mr Adams and about 400 other people interned in similar error.

On Tuesday, responding to a written question from Labour MP Chris McDonald, Secretary of State Hilary Benn said: "The main issue here is the application of the Carltona principle in the context of ICOs.

"The previous government's attempt to address this following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams has been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be unlawful and we need to find a better way of reaffirming this principle.

"The government will therefore legislate to address this issue in forthcoming primary legislation."