The legacy of Northern Ireland's Troubles has become a "millstone round the neck of police," the chairman of the Police Federation has warned. Liam Kelly highlighted the severe financial and reputational costs facing the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as the UK Government progresses its Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
The PSNI is spending £20 to 30 million annually from its budget on Troubles legacy issues. Kelly described how the historical burden «tarnished» public support for current officers and called for urgent action to address the mounting costs.
His intervention comes as the Government advances legislation to replace the previous Conservative government's controversial Legacy Act, which shut down all UK police investigations into Troubles-related killings in May last year.
Applying Modern Standards to Historical Policing
Kelly argued that judging officers from 40 to 50 years ago by today's standards is fundamentally unfair. He described policing in the 1970s as «simply a different world» where a smaller Royal Ulster Constabulary force was «trying their best to manage» multiple major incidents daily.
«The modern day standards being applied to that really are not fair, and don't look at that whole context,» Kelly stated. «There needs to be some sort of concession around that.»
He emphasized that «neither confirm nor deny processes» allow unfair narratives to persist, while very few historical officers have actually been criminally prosecuted.
Supreme Court Ruling on Sensitive Material
Last month, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a coroner's decision to disclose summaries of sensitive security force material related to a murder in west Belfast 30 years ago. The court established that the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, not a coroner, holds responsibility for assessing national security risks.
While expressing «considerable sympathy» for PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher's desire for transparency at Troubles inquests, the Supreme Court clarified the decision-making authority now rests with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn.
Defense of RUC Legacy
Kelly pushed back against what he called misleading narratives about the RUC. «The RUC were never disbanded, and that was a narrative that happened, that the RUC were disbanded in some way in disgrace,» he said. «But they were actually incorporated into the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and Her Majesty the Queen gave the organisation the George Cross, which is the highest honour they could have received as an organisation, so we should be very proud of their service.»
He called for a «more balanced narrative» in media coverage, arguing that former officers did their best in an extraordinarily difficult environment to make Northern Ireland safer and bring people to justice.
«Now we're in 2026 I think legacy is something that needs firmly gripped, and it hasn't been gripped over the years,» Kelly concluded. «Our officers need the support of the public in the here and now, but unfortunately legacy is something that is tarnishing that and needs to be addressed, and addressed urgently.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
