Victims of the Troubles urge Prime Minister Burnham to act on legacy bill

The cross-community WAVE Trauma Centre, founded in 1991 to aid those affected by the Northern Ireland conflict, sent a three-day delegation to Westminster, led by patron James Nesbitt, to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham and a range of MPs. During the visit they presented a letter urging the government to guarantee independent inquiries and to restore the rights of victims and survivors, accompanied by videos of four individuals explaining why a credible process is essential.

Burnham, who previously worked with families of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, said the spirit of that legislation would inform the Troubles Bill, though he recognised it would not meet every expectation. WAVE chief executive Sandra Peake praised Burnham’s attentive listening and stressed the need for the Bill to address the concerns of families of military personnel killed in the Troubles. The Commission for Victims and Survivors NI reiterated the call for victims’ experiences to remain central to parliamentary debate, and the delegation also met Irish Ambassador Sonja Hyland to discuss legacy issues and the desire for victim-focused outcomes in both the UK and Ireland.