Ministers came under fire yesterday for a ‘wholly inappropriate’ law change which paves the way for Gerry Adams to receive tens of thousands of pounds in compensation.
The former Sinn Fein leader has been blocked from getting compensation for unlawful detention by legislation passed under the previous Tory administration.
But the Labour government is planning to repeal this after Northern Ireland’s High Court ruled that it breaches the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
There is no obligation for ministers to follow the Belfast court’s ruling but they have decided to without challenging it.
It opens the door for Mr Adams, who has always denied being a member of the IRA, and hundreds of other former suspected terrorists to lodge taxpayer-funded compensation claims.
Sixteen peers – several of them former judges and top lawyers – last night criticised ministers as part of a report opposing the move drawn up by the Policy Exchange think tank.
In a foreword to the report,…
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