Troubles' legacy bill 'unfit for purpose' says ex-minister

Former armed forces minister Al Carns has dismissed the government's Troubles' legacy bill as being "unfit for purpose".

Carns cited his opposition to the bill as one of the reasons why he quit the government on Thursday.

In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, he said he "worked to fix the bill from the inside" but it "remains unfit for purpose" and "risks failing the very veterans it claims to protect".

A Northern Ireland Office (NIO) spokesperson said the bill is a "vital step in righting the wrongs of the flawed Legacy Act" which "left veterans exposed to a legal wild west".

Criticising the government's approach to the legislation, the former minister said the "instinct that serious problems can be managed rather than faced runs through the Northern Ireland Legacy Bill".

He also revealed how he proposed changes to the bill which were rejected.

"I set out changes I believed were necessary and the lines which I could not in good conscience go beyond. Those lines have not been accepted," he said.

"I have run out of room to argue this case honourably from inside government."