Legacy inquests: Families warn of legal action over funding

The families held up pictures of their dead relatives at the Stormont protest

The government and Stormont Executive have been told they have 14 days to agree to fund inquests into some of the most controversial killings of the Troubles or face court action.

It comes two weeks after NI's most senior judge called for urgent action.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said there is a legal obligation on the government to ensure the inquests are heard.

NI Secretary James Brokenshire said responsibility is with the executive.

Relatives of more than 30 people people killed during the Troubles staged a protest at the lack of progress on the issue at Stormont on Thursday morning.

They have called for the government to release £10m of funding requested by the Lord Chief Justice for a five-year plan to hear all of the legacy inquests.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said there is a legal obligation on the government to ensure the inquests are heard

Sir Declan Morgan wanted the money released before an overall agreement is reached on how to deal with the past.

But the request was blocked by First Minister Arlene Foster.

This month, Sir Declan Morgan said he was hugely disappointed, and said there is a legal obligation on the UK government and the Stormont Executive to ensure that the inquests are heard.

A lawyer for the families, Padraig Ó Muirigh, said Westminster had ignored Sir Declan's warning and were in breach of their legal obligations.

"I believe the British government are ignoring a warning from the Council of Europe and also from the Lord Chief Justice," he said.

"Very clearly, they are in breach of their human rights application on this issue."

Mr Ó Muirigh said Westminster and Stormont were in breach of legal obligations

Mr Ó Muirigh later handed a letter to an official representing the secretary of state warning that legal action will be launched if funding for the inquests is not released within 14 days.

The Stormont Executive and Department of Justice received similar letters.

But in a statement issued a short time later, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) made it clear that the secretary of state still believes it is up to Stormont to resolve the issue.

"Reform of the inquest system has been part of the secretary of state's intensive discussions over recent weeks with victims' and survivors' groups on implementing the Stormont House Agreement legacy institutions and making available £150m of UK government money to fund the bodies to deal with the past," the statement said.

"It is clear that the current system is not equipped to deal with the number and complexity of cases.

"The NI Executive, which has responsibility for inquests in Northern Ireland, is rightly considering how the legacy inquest system can be improved."

The families have given the Stormont Executive 14 days to release funding for inquests