UK, Ireland set out new framework to address legacy of Northern Ireland's 'Troubles'

FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Edwin Poots, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, walk up the steps of Parliament Buildings, Stormont, during the PM's tour of the UK following Labour's victory in the 2024 General Election, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, July 8, 2024. Liam McBurney/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain and Ireland agreed a new framework on Friday to address the legacy of decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and replace a controversial British law that breached human rights and angered families of people killed in the "Troubles".

The agreement fulfilled a pledge by Britain's Labour government to scrap the previous Conservative government's Legacy Act. A section of that law offered immunity from prosecution for ex-soldiers and militants who cooperate with a new investigative body - a provision that was ruled incompatible with human rights law.