Halt Troubles legal proceedings

Attorney General, John Larkin QC said he favoured “taking law out of the equation so no prosecutions, no enquiries, no inquests, no civil proceedings”.

One of the North’s most powerful judicial figures has suggested that all legal proceedings relating to ‘the Troubles’ should be halted.

In an exclusive interview with The Irish Catholic the Attorney General, John Larkin QC said he favoured “taking law out of the equation so no prosecutions, no enquiries, no inquests, no civil proceedings”.

However, he stressed that “at the same time” there should be “a platform for facilitating access to records so that the individuals can find out and can be assisted in producing their narratives of what occurred”.

Mr Larkin who appointed the North’s Director of Public Prosecutions added: “We will never find out what happened in every case. We were never going to find out what happened in every case. I am under no illusions that stopping prosecutions, stopping enquiries, stopping inquests will encourage some people to open up as is sometimes thought. I don’t think they will.”

Acknowledging that relatives of those who were killed may be upset at the prospect of perpetrators not facing justice, Mr Larkin said “any criminal lawyer will tell you as the years pass the prospect of proceedings and the prospect of successful criminal proceedings grows less and less with each passing year”.

In the wide-ranging interview, Mr Larkin also addresses the importance of faith in his life and controversial aspects of his work.