Troubles Bill Advances Amid Fierce Legacy Debate
High-Level Summary
The day began with Defence oral questions on investment, skills, procurement, readiness, Russia and Ukraine, national resilience, veterans, the High North and Diego Garcia. The main legislative business was the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: the programme motion was agreed by 286 votes to 163, and the Committee added a substantial number of Government amendments and new clauses. The Committee rejected amendments concerning the Bill’s coverage of the Omagh bombing, the investigation of troubles-related sexual offences, safeguards for prosecutions involving veterans, the membership of the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group, and Supreme Court certification of new evidence; proceedings were interrupted and ordered to resume the following day. An evening Adjournment debate considered support for restoring Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building; the Minister confirmed continuing engagement but made no commitment to new funding.
Detailed Summary
Defence oral questions
Questions covered defence investment in the north-east and west Midlands, workforce skills, procurement, readiness, European Union co-operation, Russia, Ukraine, cadet forces, low-flying training, national resilience, the High North, veterans’ support, Diego Garcia and other topical matters. Ministers cited £182 million for science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills and £50 million for defence technical excellence colleges. On procurement, Luke Pollard highlighted the Defence Office for Small Business Growth as “a dedicated front door for small businesses to access and navigate the defence procurement process”. He offered to meet Members about companies in Hartlepool and Dudley; Wes Streeting said he would visit Stirling at the first available opportunity, while a proposed satellite college at Dorset Innovation Park remained a matter for further discussion.
Readiness questions addressed reports of cancelled or reprioritised Army training. Streeting said that training and exercises were taking place for the remainder of the year, but that the Ministry of Defence and armed forces had to “live within our means”. On Russia and Ukraine, he described Russia’s campaign as “state-sponsored terrorism”, reaffirmed support for Ukraine and declined to comment on operational submarine deployments or live procurements, including Skynet. On resilience, he said the Government would refresh homeland defence plans, introduce a defence readiness Bill and strengthen critical national infrastructure resilience; he said, in the transcript, that “we will introduce a defence readiness Bill”. Other next steps included announcing the successful organisations in the second round of Valour funding, meetings on service housing and veteran-related issues, and discussions with families affected by the 1994 Chinook crash. Project Shackleton was considering longer-term options for icebreaking capability; no date for a new icebreaker was stated in the transcript.
Points of order
Ian Sollom asked whether the Education Secretary would make a statement about a Children’s Commissioner report concerning children in England. The Speaker replied, “no, I have had no such indication”. Jim Shannon raised the convention that major policy announcements should be made first to the House; the Speaker agreed that the point was valid but said that he was not responsible for arranging statements. No further decision was recorded.
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: programme motion
The House considered a motion to vary the earlier programme order so that Committee proceedings, and any remaining Consideration and Third Reading proceedings, would be completed over two days. Alex Burghart, supported by Gavin Robinson and Julian Smith, argued that the timetable did not allow adequate scrutiny of a 98-clause Bill with more than 300 amendments. Burghart said, “It looks as though we will get no Report stage at all”. Sarah Owen replied that many amendments were technical, that there were two full days for consideration and that the Bill would receive further scrutiny in the House of Lords.
The motion was agreed after a division: Ayes 286, Noes 163. The Bill then entered Committee of the whole House, with proceedings ordered to continue the following day.
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Committee stage—Government changes and institutional arrangements
The Committee considered the Government’s revised arrangements for the Legacy Commission, including duties concerning public confidence and the way functions were exercised, disclosure powers, cost control, inspections, remote evidence, prosecutor guidance and initial contact with former service personnel and police officers. Government new clause 32 was added to the Bill. It requires relevant decision-makers to consider the operational circumstances in which members of the armed forces or police acted and provides that they “must not regard lawful action taken in the course of duty as equivalent to action taken for terrorist purposes”.
The original clause 8 was disagreed to after amendment 52 was rejected, but Government new clauses 33 and 34 were subsequently brought up and added. They establish a Victims and Survivors Advisory Group and set membership requirements, including cross-community balance and, so far as practicable, at least one member who is a victim or survivor who served in the armed forces or a police force, or someone representing such people. Other Government provisions added during the sitting included inspections of the Legacy Commission, a duty to avoid unnecessary costs, assistance agreements, interim restrictions while applications were determined, information for registrars of deaths, a time limit for certain judicial reviews, arrangements for intercepted communications, initial contact provisions, a prosecutor-policy statement and defamation protections. The Committee agreed a duty to obtain and review relevant authority material before imposing requirements on witnesses; it also provided for remote evidence, with attendance in person permitted “only if the relevant person considers that it would be impracticable” to provide the information by live link.
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: contested amendments and Committee decisions
The Committee rejected amendment 23, which would have changed the definition of the Troubles from 10 April 1998 to 31 August 1998 and brought the Omagh bombing within the Legacy Commission’s temporal scope. Gavin Robinson argued that the Good Friday Agreement date excluded the Omagh bombing; Chris Bryant said that the Government were retaining “the date of the Good Friday agreement” and referred to the separate Omagh inquiry and co-operation with the Irish authorities. Amendment 23 was defeated by 169 votes to 327.
Amendment 52, which would have prevented the appointment of members of political parties with links to or support for paramilitary or terrorist organisations, was defeated by 108 votes to 327. Amendment 4, proposed by Robin Swann to allow victims of troubles-related sexual offences who had suffered physical or mental harm to request a Legacy Commission investigation, was defeated by 175 votes to 319. Bryant said that sexual offences could already be investigated by the Commission where linked to death or serious injury, and undertook to work with Members if the drafting did not provide sufficient assurance. Amendment 47, which would have required specified permissions before prosecutions involving certain veterans and former security personnel, was defeated by 166 votes to 328. New clause 21, which would have required “new and compelling evidence” certified by a Supreme Court judge before specified investigations, prosecutions, inquests or inquiries could proceed, was defeated by 167 votes to 327. The Committee then reported progress and was ordered to sit again the following day.
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: independence, justice and reconciliation
Members debated how to balance victims’ access to truth and accountability with safeguards against repeated investigations and proceedings involving veterans and former police officers. Several Members, including Sorcha Eastwood and the Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, argued that judicial panel members should be appointed by the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission rather than by the Secretary of State. The Joint Committee’s view was that ministerial appointment could risk the perception that panel members had an incentive to please the Secretary of State. The Committee’s report described the Bill as “a vast improvement on the Legacy Act in terms of human rights compliance”, while identifying further issues concerning judicial appointments and the definition of close family members.
Members also debated ministerial control over sensitive information, Attorney General consent for serious prosecutions, co-operation with the Irish authorities and the application of a duty of candour to inquisitorial proceedings. Chris Bryant said, “I completely agree with my hon. Friend about the principle of candour”, and undertook to work towards aligning the Bill with the Hillsborough legislation. The transcript records no division on the proposed judicial-appointments or duty-of-candour changes during this sitting. The debate included competing arguments that the Bill could provide families with information even where prosecution was unlikely, and that it might leave veterans subject to prolonged legal uncertainty.
Delegated legislation
The House approved the draft Boiler Upgrade Scheme (Amendment to the Energy Act 2008 etc.) Regulations 2026; the transcript records, “Question agreed to”. The Deputy Speaker’s opinion on the draft Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practices During the Recognition and Derecognition Process was challenged, so the division was deferred until Wednesday 21 October. The same happened to the draft Withdrawal Agreement (Windsor Framework and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh Building
The Adjournment debate considered the future of Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building, which was damaged by fires in 2014 and 2018. Torcuil Crichton said that the estimated £265 million cost of restoration was beyond the school’s own resources and called for the UK Government, Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and other partners to work together. Members discussed heritage-led regeneration, possible changes to the building’s ownership or oversight, and opportunities for skills and community involvement.
Scotland Office Minister Melanie Ward said that the school intended to begin an enabling project in 2027, funded through its insurance settlement, but that “the school cannot undertake a faithful reinstatement of the building on its own”. She referred to the devolved responsibility for culture and heritage, previous UK Government support of £10 million followed by a further £5 million, and existing regional investment. She said, “I cannot make a commitment to new funding today”, but undertook to convey the arguments to ministerial colleagues and confirmed the Government’s willingness to engage with the Scottish Government, the art school, Glasgow City Council and heritage organisations. The Adjournment motion was agreed and the House adjourned.