Legacy body carrying out 50 investigations into 96 deaths
The legacy body tasked with probing outstanding cases from Northern Ireland's Troubles has said it is now carrying out 50 live investigations involving 96 deaths.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which became operational in May 2024, said the number of people coming to it continues to grow.
The ICRIR was created by the previous Conservative government's controversial Legacy Act which halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths.
Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can instead request the ICRIR carry out an investigation.
While Labour has committed to repealing the Act and has said legacy inquests will resume, it is continuing with the ICRIR.
In its latest accountability update, the body said: 'In the period from May 1 2024 to March 31 2025, 154 people (requesting individuals) have come to the commission.
'There are 50 live investigations under way.'
The report said the 50 investigations relate to 96 deaths.
Commissioner for investigations Peter Sheridan said: 'There are forensic opportunities. There are investigative lines of inquiry.
'Our work is not a 'light-touch review'.
'We're trying to encourage people and build confidence in this commission.
'I will sit down with anyone and explain how, in every single case, I put senior investigating officers in to investigate all of the information available.'
The commission, headed by former Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, has faced opposition from political parties and victims' organisations in Northern Ireland, and its powers have been subject to legal challenges.
The latest case which the ICRIR has said publicly it is investigating is the murder of an RUC reserve constable by the IRA in October 1982.
John Eagleson, a father of three, was shot in the chest while making his way to work on his motorbike.
The commission is also investigating the murder of Judge Rory Conaghan, who was shot dead by an IRA gunman in front of his daughter at their Belfast home in September 1974.
The accountability update said the ICRIR now has 172 staff, with 66% based in Belfast and 34% in London.
It said: 'As at March 31 2025, 43 staff work in the information recovery (IR) team of the investigations directorate; 65% are based in London with 35% based in Belfast.
'This includes senior investigating officers, IR team supervisors, investigating officers and investigation support officers.
'The wider operations work also includes case support and findings.
'Of the 86 people working in operations, 45% have investigative experience in Northern Ireland.
'A further 36% have investigative experience solely outside of Northern Ireland.
'The remaining 19% of people have other relevant experience for the delivery of the commission's work.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MAGA Melts Down Over Trump ‘Deep State' Deportation Deal
The tech billionaire who bankrolled J.D. Vance's political rise is at the centre of a new MAGA war over fresh plans to use Big Brother surveillance to deport illegal immigrants. As protests rage in Los Angeles over Donald Trump 's immigration crackdown, some of the president's most loyal supporters are outraged over a 'deep state' contract awarded to Palantir Technologies, the controversial data mining company co-founded by venture capitalist and Vance campaign donor Peter Thiel. Government documents seen by the Daily Beast show the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded Palantir the $30 million contract to develop a new surveillance platform known as 'ImmigrationOS' to help the agency identify and arrest illegal immigrants, make it easier to deport people, and track and report self-deportations with 'near real-time visibility'. Trump acolyte Laura Loomer embraced the idea, posting on X this week: 'Time to deploy @PalantirTech to Los Angeles to deal with the illegals. You know you'd love to see it.' But the right-wing provocateur faced a fierce backlash online from people ideologically opposed to government surveillance. Some viewed Palantir, which is named after the 'seeing stones' in The Lord of the Rings, as a tool of the Deep State; others warned Palantir 'won't stop there.' 'Laura, I don't care what the excuse is. One CANNOT in any way, shape or form claim to be a Conservative or Patriot and support this,' replied John Sabal, founder of Texas-based conservative event group 'The Patriot Voice', whose outraged response was one of thousands. 'It is literally antithetical to the notion of 'smaller government' and IN FAVOR of a big government totalitarian system.' Palantir has until September to develop a prototype of the ImmigrationOS software. Not having it, ICE warned, 'severely limits' its ability to expedite Trump's deportation plans and target the gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. But the plan is particularly contentious because it comes after reports that the administration may also be using Palantir to build a database of personal information on American citizens. The New York Times reported earlier this month that the Trump administration had expanded Palantir's work across the federal government, giving it more than $113 million since Trump took office, as well as new contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Arizona's GOP delegation chose tax breaks for billionaires over clean energy jobs and public health
Photo by iStock / Getty Images Plus As a registered nurse with over 25 years of experience serving vulnerable communities across Arizona — in school clinics, long-term care facilities, and public health programs — I've dedicated my career to helping people live healthier, safer lives. I've worked with families struggling to find affordable care, seniors battling chronic health conditions, and children suffering from asthma worsened by air pollution. That's why I was deeply disappointed to see Arizona's Republican delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives vote in favor of what President Donald Trump is calling a 'big, beautiful bill.' There's nothing beautiful about it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX This bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt in order to give massive tax breaks to billionaires — at the direct expense of hardworking Arizonans. Reps. Andy Biggs, Juan Ciscomani, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar and Abe Hamadeh shamefully supported this reckless plan, which guts essential programs that keep people healthy and safe. (Rep. David Schweikert slept through the vote, but said he would have backed it.) That includes slashing Medicaid and food assistance that countless Arizona families rely on. It also repeals clean energy investments made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These programs are creating jobs, improving air quality, helping combat Arizona's extreme heat and lowering energy costs for our communities. In just two years, the IRA has created nearly 19,000 clean energy jobs and generated $12.75 billion in investment for Arizona. These are real, tangible opportunities, especially in rural and underserved areas, where job growth and energy affordability are most needed. Rolling back these investments would halt progress, increase electricity bills, and eliminate job opportunities in Arizona's growing clean energy sector. This is particularly dangerous in a state like ours, where the climate impacts are not some distant threat, but our day-to-day reality. Arizona just experienced one of the hottest years on record, and extreme heat is now a leading cause of weather-related deaths. Seniors are especially vulnerable, and many already struggle to pay rising utility bills. Repealing clean energy incentives would worsen those burdens, put lives at risk, and raise energy costs by nearly $400 per household. Our summers are growing longer and hotter, and Arizona is home to some of the fastest-warming cities in the country. Heat-related illnesses have been increasing in tandem with these extreme events. This kind of heat can cause a range of serious health issues, from dehydration and exhaustion to life-threatening conditions like heatstroke. It also worsens chronic illnesses like heart and lung disease, which are common among older adults. Rising temperatures have also been linked to increased mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and even suicide. As extreme heat events become more frequent, health leaders and policymakers must take action now to protect both physical and mental well-being through informed, climate-resilient strategies. These clean energy investments are also key in reducing utility bills by making homes more energy-efficient and expanding access to affordable, clean energy. Through rebates, tax credits, and incentives for home upgrades such as insulation, heat pumps and solar panels, the IRA empowers families — especially those in low-income and historically underserved communities — to reduce their energy consumption and save money each month. As climate-driven extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe, adopting stronger building codes and fully implementing IRA programs are essential to building resilience, protecting vulnerable communities, and easing financial burdens for those most at risk After a lifetime of work, our elders deserve dignity, not heatstroke and financial insecurity. As older adults, we also have a responsibility to protect future generations. Our choices today will determine whether our grandchildren inherit livable communities or face even more deadly heatwaves and health crises. Arizona's decision-makers should be fighting for policies that protect public health, economic security and our environment, not handing out tax breaks to billionaires while our communities suffer. The 'big, beautiful bill' does exactly the opposite. It's an attack on the people I've spent my life caring for — families, seniors, and those most vulnerable to both economic and environmental injustice. We deserve better. Arizona deserves leaders who will put people over profits and prioritize a healthier, more just future for all. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fact check: 2025 spending review claims
On Wednesday Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered the Labour Government's first spending review, outlining its spending plans for the next few years. We've taken a look at some of the key claims. How much is spending increasing by? At the start of her speech Ms Reeves announced that 'total departmental budgets will grow by 2.3% a year in real terms'. That headline figure doesn't tell the full story, however. Firstly, 2.3% is the average annual real-terms growth in total departmental budgets between 2023/24 and 2028/29. That means it includes spending changes that have already been implemented, for both the current (2025/26) and previous (2024/25) financial years. The average annual increase between this year and 2028/29 is 1.5%. Therefore, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said, 'most departments will have larger real-terms budgets at the end of the Parliament than the beginning, but in many cases much of that extra cash will have arrived by April'. Secondly, it's worth noting that the 2.3% figure includes both day-to-day (Resource DEL) and investment (Capital DEL) spending. Capital spending (which funds things like infrastructure projects) is increasing by 3.6% a year on average in real terms between 2023/24 and 2029/30, and by 1.8% between 2025/26 and 2029/30. Day-to-day departmental budgets meanwhile are seeing a smaller average annual real-terms increase – of 1.7% between 2023/24 and 2028/29 and 1.2% between 2025/26 and 2028/29. Which departments are the winners and losers? Ms Reeves touted substantial spending increases in some areas (for example, the 3% rise in day-to-day NHS spending in England), but unsurprisingly her statement did not focus on areas where spending will decrease. Changes to Government spending are not uniform across all departments, and alongside increases in spending on things like the NHS, defence and the justice system, a number of Government departments will see their budgets decrease in real terms. Departments facing real-terms reductions in overall and day-to-day spending include the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (this factors in reductions in aid spending announced earlier this year to offset increased defence spending), the Home Office (although the Government says the Home Office's budget grows in real terms if a planned reduction in asylum spending is excluded) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Did the Conservatives leave a '£22 billion black hole'? Ms Reeves made a claim we've heard a number of times since it first surfaced in July 2024 – that the previous Conservative government left a '£22 billion black hole in the public finances'. That figure comes from a Treasury audit that forecast a £22 billion overspend in departmental day-to-day spending in 2024/25, but the extent to which it was unexpected or inherited is disputed. The IFS said last year that some of the pressures the Government claimed contributed to this so-called 'black hole' could have been anticipated, but others did 'indeed seem to be greater than could be discerned from the outside'. An Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) review of its March 2024 forecast found an estimated £9.5 billion of additional spending pressures were known to the Treasury at that point in time, but were not known to the OBR as it prepared its forecast. It's true that this review didn't confirm the £22 billion figure, but it also did not necessarily prove that it was incorrect, because Labour's figure included pressures which were identified after the OBR prepared its forecast and so were beyond the scope of the OBR's review. We've written more about how the Government reached the figure of £22 billion in our explainer on this topic. How big is the increase in NHS appointments? Ms Reeves took the opportunity to congratulate Health Secretary Wes Streeting for delivering 'three-and-a-half million extra' hospital appointments in England. The Government has previously celebrated this as a 'massive increase', particularly in light of its manifesto pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments a year. Ms Reeves' claim was broadly accurate – data published last month shows there were 3.6 million additional appointments between July 2024 and February 2025 compared to the previous year. But importantly that increase is actually smaller than the 4.2 million rise that happened in the equivalent period the year before, under the Conservative government – as data obtained by Full Fact under the Freedom of Information Act and published last month revealed. What do announcements on asylum hotels, policing, nurseries and more mean for the Government's pledges? Ms Reeves made a number of announcements that appear to directly impact the delivery of several pre-existing Labour pledges, many of which we're already monitoring in our Government Tracker. (We'll be updating the tracker to reflect these announcements in due course, and reviewing how we rate progress on pledges as necessary). The Chancellor announced an average increase in 'police spending power' of 2.3% a year in real terms over the course of the review period, which she said was the equivalent of an additional £2 billion. However, as police budgets comprise a mix of central Government funding and local council tax receipts, some of this extra spending is expected to be funded by increases in council tax precepts. Ms Reeves said this funding would help the Government achieve its commitment of 'putting 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles in England and Wales', a pledge we're monitoring here. The spending review also includes funding of 'almost £370 million across the next four years to support the Government's commitment to deliver school-based nurseries across England', which Ms Reeves said would help the Government deliver its pledge to have 'a record number of children being school-ready'. The Chancellor also committed to ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament, with an additional £200 million announced to 'accelerate the transformation of the asylum system'. When we looked last month at progress on the Government's pledge to 'end asylum hotels' we said it appeared off track, as figures showed the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels was higher at the end of March 2025 than it was when Labour came into Government.
