The Office of the Police Ombudsman has responded to the new 'Legacy of the Troubles' Framework, published today (19 September 2025) by the UK Government and Government of Ireland.
We await the detail which will be included in the legislation to properly assess and understand the potential impact on our work.
However, there are some notable implications for the Office in the new ‘Legacy of the Troubles’ Framework, specifically the proposal that ‘where the Legacy Commission finds evidence of potential criminality relating to police officers which falls outside of its remit, the Commission will refer that conduct to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland for consideration’.
We also anticipate that the restoration of inquests and the establishment of new legacy bodies will bring additional disclosure demands.
We do welcome the proposal that ‘the power to refer cases to the Legacy Commission will be expanded to include other entities in specific circumstances, including…the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland’ which we sought previously, and that there will be ‘continued oversight by the various UK police conduct bodies through agreements provided for in statute’.