The Troubles Legacy: A One-Sided Search for Truth

The Troubles Legacy – Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn wants to find the truth about The Troubles. Noble goal, but after 30 years of failure, we should ask why the current approach won’t work.

Here’s the uncomfortable reality: of 3,600 deaths during The Troubles, over 90% were caused by terrorists. Yet terrorists rarely participate in truth-seeking. They’ve melted into the shadows, and their political allies—now sitting in government—keep their secrets locked tight.

The system is fundamentally unbalanced. The Ministry of Defence must hand over records and produce witnesses. Sinn Féin, the IRA’s political wing, does neither. Neither do loyalist parties connected to paramilitaries. This creates a process biased against the army and RUC—the only participants actually cooperating.

Consider what happens to soldiers who do cooperate. Two soldiers were promised no retribution by the McCann family for helping find closure. They told the truth about shooting an IRA leader during an arrest. Their reward? Five years of prosecution before acquittal. Dennis Hutchings endured seven years of legal torment and died during the trial.

The message is clear: cooperate and face years of legal hell. Stay silent and walk free.

Benn’s “new” framework isn’t new—it’s the same adversarial court system that’s failed for three decades. Defence lawyers will advise clients not to engage, creating no admissible evidence. Meanwhile, security services hold files and recordings that could reveal the truth, but refuse to open them.

If we genuinely want the truth, we need equal participation. Political parties linked to paramilitaries must share what they know, or be excluded from demanding investigations. Until then, this process will continue targeting military and police who kept records and cooperated, while the real secrets remain buried with those who refuse to talk.