McDonald says the party is mindful of the "British government's approach to the case of Sean Brown" and that it "is important in these times" that judgements are "respected".

Sean Brown, 61, was abducted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force at a GAA club in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, and shot dead near Randalstown, County Antrim, in 1997.

No-one has ever been charged over Mr Brown's murder

McDonald adds: "There could be no better confidence-building measure... within the community that the government is serious about bringing truth and justice and closure to families than for them to press ahead now" and to "bring justice to the Sean Brown family".

McDonald says her party will “scrutinise” the joint framework.

“We will test it, we will talk to victims and survivors about it," she says.

“Then we await the legislation, because that really will be the litmus test as to the seriousness of the British government when it says that it wishes to bring all of this to a successful conclusion.”

First to speak is Sinn Féin leader Mary-Lou McDonald.

Reacting to the Northern Ireland Troubles legacy deal she says that "at last," the framework has been published

"We are very mindful today of victims and survivors... of everybody, every family who suffered grievous losses," she tells gathered reporters.

She says the party is "mindful of the needs of justice and truth".

She adds that at the centre of any successful approach around legacy issues are "human rights compliance" and "victim centred" and there must not be "anywhere to hide for the British system or government" or for anybody to "subvert the needs of victims and survivors".

We will keep you updated and you can press the play button at the top of the page.

At the podium is Mary-Lou McDonald, Michelle O'Neill and Gerry Kelly.

Stay with us.

A news conference with Sinn Féin in reaction to the new agreement is due to start shortly.

You can watch the conference by clicking the play button at the top of the page, when it appears.

Victims and survivors group Wave Trauma Centre says "victims and survivors will wait to see" if the commission will "truly deliver for them before they can say that the legacy of Northern Ireland's violent past is at last to be comprehensively and effectively addressed".

CEO Dr Sandra Peake says that both the Secretary of State and the Tánaiste have met victims and survivors and have assured them that they have listened.

However she warns that "victims and survivors cannot be kept in a perpetual state of retraumatising disappointment and deep frustration".

"They deserve the best outcomes that can be achieved and it’s up to everyone who has a part to play to make sure that is delivered,” she adds.

Image source, PA Media

The fresh proposals made by the new framework will require "serious examination," the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Leader says.

Gavin Robinson says his party will engage with the UK–Ireland proposals but criticises the lack of "prior consultation with victims and veterans' representatives".

"For 25 years the Irish government have wilfully failed to provide answers for innocent victims of terrorism and their families. In today’s statement, there is no acknowledgement of the pain or hurt this has caused," he says.

"For many victims and survivors, it will be a case of ‘too little, too late’ and any clamour to embrace new legislative or financial commitments pledged by Dublin should be tempered by this reality."

He said Omagh bombing victims' families were being "denied a parallel investigation in the Republic of Ireland into the circumstances that led to the planning and transporting of the bomb used in that atrocity within that jurisdiction".

Image source, PA Media

The leader of the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) says the deal announced represents "some progress" but says there are "serious concerns that what is being brought forward will fall short".

Claire Hanna says: "Disclosure is at the core of the challenge with legacy. Truth recovery has dragged on for decades because layers of secrecy and veto have consistently been deployed by paramilitary and state killers."

She adds that her party rejects the closure of inquests and questions whether "any work has been done to drive maximum disclosure from paramilitary groups".

Shane Laverty, whose brother 18-year-old Robert - an RUC officer, was killed by the IRA in 1972 while on duty, wants "truth and honesty" from the government.

The RUC was Northern Ireland’s police force during the Troubles. It was replaced in 2001 by the PSNI.

Shane spoke to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme this morning and feels victims affiliated with the RUC "don't matter much in the eyes of the government".

Shane feels the RUC has been "thrown under the bus".

"I know there are good and bad apples in every organisation but the name of the organisation has been tarnished and trailed through the mud so much it's actually embarrassing," Shane says.

“My brother was not in that organisation to pursue anything other than a career and to help people.”

Emmett McConomy, whose 11-year-old brother Stephen was killed by a British soldier in Londonderry in 1982, says he hopes the new framework will be "a step in the right direction" for the many people affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland.

However, speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme ahead of the announcement, Mr McConomy expressed concern about the level of engagement both governments had undertaken with victims regarding the framework.

"Without proper buy-in from victims," he said, "this could sadly be doomed to fail."

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) says the joint framework "provides clarity" and it "promises new powers, enhanced independence, and improved capabilities" that are "important, timely and welcome".

It adds at the "heart of legacy issues, are the victims, survivors, and families" and the Commission will "maintain its dedicated service to victims, survivors, and families, its efforts to seek the unvarnished truth, and its focus on the promotion of reconciliation".

David Crabbe was in the Army, serving for 30 years and was always based in Northern Ireland.

"I witnessed some pretty nasty things that happened and they leave a mark on you".

David says any progress is welcome in regards to the new legacy act.

"We want to see a fair legacy process. There's been millions of pounds spent on inquiries and inquests into the actions of soldiers and police," he adds.

"Those millions of pounds haven't been spent on the actions of those who murdered police and Army so, we want to see a fairer process because it's skewing the narrative of the conflict".

David says, "we've always said if somebody has crossed the criminal threshold then they should face the law, we stood for law and order and that's what we stand by".

"People want to know what happened to their loved ones, why it happened to them and that is where the answer lies for the majority of families".

David feels there's never going to be a perfect plan but he is glad to see "the Irish government is stepping up to the plate," which he says is "long overdue".

He says, "It's a guarded and cautious welcome of progress but there's always more that can be done but it's never going to be perfect."

Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood welcomes the fact that the UK and Irish governments are "both working together on this".

She points to the fact that the previous Legacy Act didn't "have the support of anybody", what is key, she says is that the new framework is "human rights compliant" with survivors and families at the centre.

She adds that families need "clear pathways" to truth, justice and accountability.

We have now heard from both the NI secretary and the Irish foreign minister.

They announced that as part of the framework the UK Government will:

• Reform the ICRIR, strengthening its independence, governance and powers and putting in place a new conflict of interest policy. The body will then be renamed the Legacy Commission
• Repeal the Legacy Act’s immunity scheme, ending the prospect of immunity being granted to terrorists
• Allow inquests that were stopped by the Legacy Act to resume, with others being independently assessed by the Solicitor General. New inquests will not be announced as the Commission will become the primary route
• Six new rights for NI veterans asked to engage with a legacy process

The Irish Government will:

• Ensure co-operation of relevant Irish authorities with the Legacy Commission

• Establish a new legacy unit in An Garda Síochána (Irish police), and investigate all unresolved Troubles-related incidents in Ireland
• Provide funding to support legacy mechanisms

Read more here.

Image source, PA Media

Here is an up sum of what has happened at the news conference:

Hilary Benn says the joint framework will:

• "Help families that have been waiting 30, 40 and 50 years" by bringing forward legislation that is "human rights compliant"
• Including a "significantly reformed legacy commission"
• Remove the "previous government's immunity scheme", and "implement fair and transparent rules for disclosure"

Simon Harris says:

• The framework is "no definitive solution" but it is "a comprehensive set of measures" to provide "the maximum truth, justice and accountability"
• This joint framework is "a night and day improvement on the 2023 Act"
• The Irish government will "make ring-fenced funding of €25m" to support victims, survivors and next of kin in legacy processes once the legislation is in place

Hilary Benn says this is not "capitulation of anybody to anybody else”.

"We can continue to go over the pain, suffering and problems of the past but for the families sitting at home today, they want to know if they are getting an answer to what happened and that is about the future," he says.

"At some point we have to move beyond the pain, suffering and events of the past and fashion a way of dealing with this problem, which is what this document does,” he adds.

Harris is then asked by a reporter, "given the provisions for military veterans, do you have any indication on how nationalist politicians and nationalist victims groups might react to what they may see as a special category for former British soldiers?"

Harris says: "I don't want to involve myself in British politics but that the reality is exactly what the Secretary of State said, that the provisions in relation to witnesses will apply to anyone that interacts with the Legacy Commission".

One reporter asks about protection in old age applying to witnesses, asking "will this also apply to defendants, to former soldiers potentially accused of wrong doing, will their age be a factor?"

The reporter continues, "and, does it apply in all cases, former loyalists and republican paramilitaries, will they be treated in exactly the same way as former British soldiers?"

The Secretary of State, Hilary Benn says, "those remote evidence provisions considering the health and wellbeing of those who might be called, applies to all witnesses.

"When it comes to any criminal case, those measures we're announcing don't apply to that because we have well established processes if someone is actually charged with a criminal offence, they are two different things".

Image source, Reuters

The pair are asked if they can provide a more definitive timescale for when the reforms will be implemented.

Harris says the framework agreement has to be faithfully translated into legislation first and the Irish government will follow the UK government in terms of timescale.

"We will be preparing to move very efficiently," he adds

Benn says he wishes that he could give a definitive date.

"All I can say to you is we are drafting the legislation as we speak. We are committed to bringing it before parliament as soon as we can."

Harris says the €25m over three years is envisioned as a fund to assist families in accessing the various structures which are to be put in place, such as legal representation.

When asked about the inter-state case, he says "we never wanted to be in a position where we had to take our nearest neighbour to an international court, we only did so because we had exhausted every other means".

He adds that when the framework is passed "faithfully" into legislation, the interstate case will be dropped.