The legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is unusually high on the Westminster agenda at the moment, so it worth taking note of a very timely meeting being organised by the Labour Party Irish Society next Monday:
We want to alert you to an extremely important event we are organising for MONDAY 2 JULY, 7:30PM at the IRISH CULTURAL CENTRE in Hammersmith.
Margaret Urwin of the Justice for the Forgotten campaign will be our speaker. Margaret is a founder member of the group, which represents the victims and families of the bombings of Dublin and Monaghan in the 1970s.
In recent weeks there has been much debate and discussion about the legacy of the troubles and the correct response to achieving truth and justice for all involved. Margaret is coming over to speak to LPIS members about JFF and to inform and educate from the perspective of the families of those innocents killed in these particular terrorist attacks. Margaret has published a book about the investigations into the bombings and state collusion: ‘A State in Denial’.
LPIS is proud to be supporting Margaret during her visit, which will include meeting MPs, many who are LPIS members.
For more information, please visit http://www.dublinmonaghanbombings.org/home/
Please let us know if you are attending by emailing labourirish@gmail.com
The head of steam building at Westminster around legacy prosecutions of British soldiers was illustrated today by the publication of a House of Commons Library Report on the subject. Patrick Maguire of the New Statesman recently suggested that the issue was part of a cocktail of defence concerns amongst Tory backbenchers that could even cost Theresa May her position as Prime Minister.
That pressure may explain why May has repeatedly made false statements from the despatch box, claiming that only members of the security forces were facing legacy investigations.
Against that backdrop, the victims of state violence in Northern Ireland have gone largely unheard in the Westminster debate. The demise of the SDLP as a parliamentary force is one factor in this. Sinn Fein are remarkably active at Westminster within the constraints of 'active abstentionism', but that policy intrinsically limits their impact on the Commons.
Many Labour MPs with an interest in Ireland have also been constrained by elevation to the frontbench, leaving a handful of backbenchers with deep knowledge of the issues to speak up in a difficult political environment.
Hopefully, next week's event will be a step towards redressing that balance.
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