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‘I am very eager to work with him’: Taoiseach will take Starmer ‘at his word’ on legacy act
Simon Harris, the Taoiseach of Ireland, has welcomed commitments made by the new British government in relation to the Legacy Act.
Labour has previously pledged to start anew on legacy, with the act – which was the result of a Conservative commitment to protect Army veterans – to be “repealed and replaced”.
In short, the act – an attempt to deal with the Troubles – had offered conditional immunity, ended related inquests and banned any future civil actions.
Labour has promised to scrap this “as quickly as possible”.
Speaking to our Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy, Mr Harris says that, when speaking to Sir Keir Starmer this week, he did “indicate the willingness of my government to work with the British government and with the parties in Northern Ireland in relation to legacy”.
He says: “I welcome the commitments that the incoming British government has given in relation to replacing the legacy act.”
Asked if he will drop its human rights case, Mr Harris says: “I think we need to take this step by step.”
He also recognised there were “clear policy differences and difficulties and challenges over the last number of years” with the Conservative government.
“I had a professional relationship with Rishi Sunak, he was always very cordial to deal with, so this for me was never about personality.”
But Mr Harris says he will take Sir Keir “at his word”.
“He is a man of integrity, he has won a comprehensive victory in this election,” he adds.
“I am very eager to work with him.”
