FAMILIES should have 'maximum disclosure in resumed inquests', a victims' campaigner has said in the wake of the  British Government dropping its ongoing legal challenge against a court ruling which declared parts of the Troubles Legacy Act to be unlawful.

The challenge centred on the most contentious aspect of the act which offered conditional immunity to suspects in exchange for information about Troubles-era crimes. The new Labour government has now abandoned that appeal in keeping with its pledge to scrap and replace the Troubles Legacy Act.

Mark Thompson, from Relatives For Justice said: "Whilst this is welcome it nevertheless relates solely to the amnesty provisions of the Tory Legacy Act, which the judgment found to be unlawful when challenged by families.

"In our view the judgment was watertight and certainly withstood further scrutiny in the court of appeal when challenged earlier this year by Chris Heaton-Harris; now withdrawn as the verdict was due.

"What is of particular interest, and which has gone largely unreported, is that the appeal by the previous Secretary of State in respect to the decision of the coroner to provide a gist of intelligence in the Paul ‘Topper’ Thompson inquest has not been withdrawn.

"Having lost their initial challenge and the appeal, the case remains lodged with the UK Supreme Court. This matter also relates directly to several other high profile inquests that never completed due to the Tory Legacy Act involving irrefutable evidence of collusion.

"Withdrawing this appeal would be especially important in that coroners could then provide gists and information from state intelligence files relevant to these murders.

"Having lost their initial challenge and appeal I would call on Hilary Benn to withdraw this appeal and enable families to have maximum disclosure in resumed inquests."

Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said that the British government needs to deliver on its commitment to scrap the Legacy Act and implement the Stormont House Agreement legacy mechanisms.

“The legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House by the two governments and political parties in 2014 provided for two separate mechanisms to conduct independent investigations and facilitate information recovery, with both bodies attracting political and public endorsement via the agreement and the subsequent public consultation," he said.

“The British government should scrap its Legacy Act and implement the Stormont House Agreement mechanisms in a human rights' compliant manner.”