Labour’s Moral Bankruptcy on the NI Legacy
Government puts foreign courts and former terrorists before British interests
The latest revelations about potential compensation for former IRA members, including Gerry Adams, expose the complete moral vacuum at the heart of this government. The report in The Times* outlines how Labour’s obsession with legalism and international approval could see taxpayers forking out as much as £2.7 billion for legacy payouts—money that could and should be spent on our armed forces, veterans, and victims of IRA terrorism, or frankly anything else but IRA murderers.
The response from the Labour government tells us everything we need to know. Rather than defending the interests of the British people, they hide behind so-called international law, justifying their decisions by claiming compliance with the ECHR. This is wrong on two counts:
Labour governs the UK, not the world. Their duty is to UK voters, not foreign courts or legal ideologues. They were elected to serve our interests, yet time and again, they prioritise legal interpretations over national security and justice.
This mess was entirely avoidable. The previous government attempted to clean up the disastrous legacy process left by Blair, only for the ECHR to declare it non-compliant. That left Labour with a choice: fight for the national interest or submit to Strasbourg. No prizes for guessing what they chose—yet again, they have opted to put international interests ahead of their own country.
Jeremy Hunt and Robert Jenrick are right to call this out. Labour’s “hyper-legalist” approach to government is funnelling hundreds of millions to former terrorists while neglecting our armed forces. Instead of standing firm, Keir Starmer and his Attorney General, Lord Hermer, bow to external pressure and keep opening the floodgates for lawsuits and compensation claims.
This is not just incompetence—it is deliberate political cowardice. Labour does not stand for Britain, and on every occasion, they choose to surrender to the demands of foreign courts and former terrorists over the interests of the people of the UK.
If Starmer truly wanted to stop Adams from receiving compensation, he could act decisively. Instead, he hides behind legal excuses, showing that his government lacks a moral compass—or at least one that points in the direction of British interests.
Enough is enough. The British people deserve leadership that defends their country, not one that sells them out at every turn.
*The Times article: https://www.thetimes.com/article/ce1b0f01-531d-4e0b-b8f2-d63291c8ae67?shareToken=be0796b0b1ed21820eb2a19ad41107f3