The Police Ombudsman has welcomed a six month extension to the timeframe for reporting the outcome of Troubles-related legacy investigations, signed this afternoon (28 April 2025) by the Secretary of State.
Transitional arrangements established under the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, had specified that reporting the outcomes of legacy investigations should complete by 30 April 2025.
The Government has now extended that timeframe until 31 October 2025. Further details are available on the Gov.uk website.
Welcoming the move, the Police Ombudsman’s Office has released the following statement:
“The Police Ombudsman welcomes the extension of time for her to report the outcome of legacy investigations completed before 1 May 2024. This new timeframe will allow the Ombudsman to provide her conclusions on these investigations to affected families with a greater amount of time and space for them to consider and digest the findings, and to report publicly on remaining cases.
“1 May 2024 is the date that all criminal investigations about Troubles related offences ceased under the Legacy Act.”