U.K. TO END ‘TROUBLES’ PROSECUTIONS

The U.K. government announced Wednesday that it plans to introduce a statute of limitations for alleged crimes committed during decades of violence in Northern Ireland, a move that would end prosecutions for killings by both British soldiers and members of militant groups.

The government said the move ref lected the dwindling chances of convicting the perpetrators of decades-old crimes, and would allow a fuller accounting of a dark chapter of history. But families of people killed in the violence called the plan a betrayal, and Northern Ireland’s main political parties rejected it.

More than 3,500 people died — most of them civilians — during three decades of violence known as the “Troubles,” a three-way conflict involving Irish republican and British loyalist paramilitaries and U.K. troops.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the statute of limitations would “apply equally” to crimes committed by all parties before Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace accord.

Under the government’s plan, the statute of limitations will be accompanied by a new independent body tasked with uncovering and compiling information about Troubles-related deaths and injuries, along with an “oral history initiative.” British officials hope that, freed from the threat of prosecution, former militants will be willing to come forward and disclose details of actions during the conflict.