THE British government has formally tabled its amendments to the controversial Legacy Bill despite opposition from the US, EU, every political party in Ireland and human rights and victims' groups.

It comes one day after the British government was resolutely criticised by the European Committee of Ministers yesterday.

In the amendments the British government state that any ongoing criminal investigations, inquests and considerations for prosecutions will only be allowed to carry on until May 2024.

From May 2024 the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which last month appointed former Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan to head the commission, will then take the lead on legacy cases.

Secretary of State for the North, Chris Heaton-Harris said: “The Government has consistently stated that it would continue constructive dialogue in order to alleviate concerns and strengthen the Bill. That is why we have published a number of significant amendments that directly address a number of key concerns raised by interested parties.

“This includes amendments on the conduct of reviews, compliance with Convention Rights, the independence of the Commission, conditional immunity, and ongoing legal processes."

The only group to have endorsed the legislation are the Northern Ireland Veterans Association.

Sinn Féin MLA for North Belfast Gerry Kelly has condemned the legislation and said it should be scrapped entirely.

“The British government’s timing of this release is a cynical response to the heavy critique of their fundamentally flawed Legacy Bill by the European Committee of Ministers today.  

“Its proposed amendments do not deal with the substantive issues in the critique covered by the European Ministers. The amendments are also not in full compliance with the British government’s obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights. 

“The proposed new timeframe for concluding inquests will make it more difficult for families to have this most basic investigation into the killings of their loved ones. The new amendment states that conflict-related inquests must conclude by May 1 next year. 

“This effectively closes the door in the faces of families looking to make progress in a large number of inquests, given the backlog in disclosure by the PSNI and the lack of resources for this work."

Mr Kelly continued by calling on the Irish government to stand up against this legislation.

“This amendment is particularly cruel as expectations had been raised among families that once inquests had been opened that they would be concluded.

“This move is cruel, heartless and unprecedented.

Reacting, victims' group Relatives For Justice said: "The rights of victims and survivors will be permanently shut down, especially those engaged in inquests."

"It is anti-victim, anti-human rights and anti-rule of law. This will have a detrimental and traumatic impact on tens of thousands of victims and survivors."