The effective amnesty will apply to British veterans, former members of the security services and Royal Ulster Constabulary, as well as the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries.
The Government's intention to introduce a statute of limitations concerning the Troubles has drawn criticism from all sides, despite Lewis and Boris Johnson insisting the amnesty would allow those involved in the conflict on all sides to escape investigation. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and many other politicians were staying at the hotel during the Conservative Party conference, but most were unharmed. The Grand Hotel in Brighton, after a bomb attack by the IRA, October 12, 1984. Unionists wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, while Irish nationalists and Republicans pushed for Northern Ireland to leave the UK to instead create a 'united Ireland'. The move is likely to be received positively by Unionist parties, who believe that Republicans have tried to play down the role of the IRA in the conflict, but is equally expected to incur a considerable backlash from the nationalist party Sinn Fein. The compilation of historical records, footage, images, documents and other materials is expected to take several years and would be similar to the Government's drive to document and chronicle the First World War in the years following the bloodshed. The plans being drawn up by Lewis signify another push to 'draw a line under the Troubles' - a statement made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July when the Government confirmed it aims to ban further prosecutions for crimes dating back to the conflict. Photo dated December 7, 1982, showing the devastation caused by a time bomb exploded by the Irish National Liberation Army the evening before at the Droppin Well pub in Ballykelly