Legacy: Law firm launches defamation case against Brandon Lewis

By Julian O’NeillBBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent

A Belfast law firm and a number of its partners will begin further defamation proceedings against the Northern Ireland secretary, according to a statement issued on Friday.

It relates to an article by Brandon Lewis on the Troubles legacy issue, published on the Conservative Home website on 9 June.

The action is being brought by KRW Law and several of its personnel.

Action is also being taken against the NI Office (NIO) and the website.

An NIO spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

Those taking the case claim the article makes “defamatory allegations about law firms in Northern Ireland who represent clients in legacy cases”.

It is the second time KRW Law has commenced proceedings against Mr Lewis.

There is a separate, ongoing case relating to an interview Mr Lewis gave on legacy in 2020.

Gateley Tweed LLP, who are representing KRW Law and its solicitors Kevin Winters and Niall Murphy, issued a statement on behalf of Mr Winters to BBC News NI.

It stated that in the Conservative Home article, Mr Lewis had attacked the work of lawyers dealing with Troubles-related cases.

It went on: “My colleagues and I can confirm we are taking defamation proceedings against him in both his personal capacity and as a government representative.

“His comments come on the back of his Tory regime’s ongoing drive to stop conflict-bereaved victims getting access to justice through the courts.

“Not content with trying to lock up the courts, they now want to silence lawyers trying to keep those same courts open for conflict-affected families.

“There is a tone being struck which harks back to the toxic comments of previous Tory minister Douglas Hogg in 1989 when he accused some lawyers of being ‘sympathetic to the IRA’.

“They simply don’t appreciate that we get our instruction from our clients.

“To that end, any attack on ‘specialist lawyers’ is an attack on the victims of the conflict,” Mr Winters stated.