Legacy vote clears way for more Legacy prosecutions
RHIANNON JAMES, Belfast Telegraph, January 22nd,
MPS' VOTE MEANS ARMY VETERANS AND TERRORISTS MAY BE PROSECUTED
Army veterans could face prosecution for their conduct during the Troubles in Northern Ireland after MPs voted in favour of removing protections.
As it currently stands, the Legacy Act offers immunity from prosecution to anyone accused of crimes during the Troubles in Northern Ireland if they give information to a truth recovery body.
However, the High Court in Belfast ruled parts of the Act were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights in 2024.
While the Legacy Act was approved in 2023, it was not enacted.
The then-Conservative government began the process of appealing against the High Court decision, but this was dropped by Labour ministers after the 2024 general election.
More than 3,500 people died during the Troubles.
Speaking in the Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the 2023 Legacy Act “fundamentally failed” because it was incompatible with the UK's human rights obligations.
Following his comments, MPs voted on a Government remedial order to update the legislation.
That vote passed by 373 to 106, majority 267, last night.
Civil cases
As a result, the bar on new civil claims over cases from the Troubles will also be removed.
The remedial order will now go to the House of Lords where it must be approved by peers before the law is changed.
Mr Benn told MPs: “One of the main reasons for the failure of the Legacy Act was its attempt to grant immunity, including to terrorists who murdered in cold blood soldiers and civilians in Northern Ireland and in towns and cities across England.
“Now, it probably, in fairness, seemed reassuring to veterans, it was almost certainly reassuring to terrorists who had committed those acts.
“But it was a false promise, and it protected no one.”
He added: “The Government is clear that these repeals need to happen as quickly as possible.
“Why? Because we need to provide clarity on immunity to build trust amongst victims, survivors and indeed veterans in the independent commission.
“Because while immunity remains on the statute book, it will be harder for them to obtain the confidence of some victims and survivors.”
‘Continuation of Troubles by other means’
Alex Burghart, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, argued the remedial order was a “continuation of the Troubles by other means” and it was time to draw a line under it.
Mr Burghart said he agreed with Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp, who described it as a “proxy war” to “relitigate the question 'who won?'”.
East Belfast MP and DUP leader Gavin Robinson said: “I believe he is bringing this remedial order in wrongly. I think he is attaching to these issues a level of undue haste.”
Mr Robinson also raised concerns over the legacy commission's budget with the “raft of work” it will face as a result of the remedial order.
No winners
SDLP leader Claire Hanna, the MP for Belfast South and Mid Down, insisted no one had won in the Troubles.
She said: “All of them have lost members of the family. And it's not about people being able to draw a line under the past because MPs in London have told them to.”
She argued the previous legislation was “not about reconciliation or truth” but “ensuring that republican and loyalist paramilitaries again would have had their crimes retrospectively legalised.”
Sir Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, said: “The truth of the matter is that you have to give immunity to everyone or to no one.
“And if the price of giving immunity to servicemen is that we give it to terrorists too, then it is a price worth paying.”
However, Sorcha Eastwood, Alliance MP for Lagan Valley, said it was not a price her constituents and “the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland” are willing to pay.
She added: “I'm proud to be Northern Irish. I'm proud to be British. I'm also proud to be Irish, but most of all, I am proud to say that we should be able to stand by the rule of law wherever we are deployed.”
36 former RUC and PSNI officers now working for legacy body
CONNLA YOUNG, CRIME AND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, January 22nd, 2026
A LEGACY body which deals with Troubles killings has recruited 36 former RUC and PSNI officers, new figures reveal.
The Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) began operating in 2024 after the introduction of the Legacy Act.
The body is set to be rebranded the Legacy Commission by the British government.
The Court of Appeal has previously found that a British government veto over sensitive material that can be disclosed by the commission to relatives of the dead is not compatible with human rights laws.
In response to a Freedom of Information request last year, the ICRIR previously confirmed that “fewer than 10 former UK military” are also on its books.
Figures released to the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) reveal that 30 former members of the RUC, who also served in the PSNI, are working for the ICRIR.
Another six police officers, who worked only for the PSNI, are also currently on the commission’s books.
Aimee Loughrey, of PFC, said: “With each month the numbers of ex-RUC or PSNI increases. This hardly instils confidence among families.”
The Committee on the Administration of Justice has previously obtained similar data about the number of former RUC/PSNI officers recruited by the commission.
Information on investigators witheld
However, requests for information about the specific roles of the officers have been withheld by the commission, although the ICRIR did provide a breakdown for those in ‘operational roles’ and ‘corporate roles’.
Daniel Holder, of CAJ, said the “reasons given for withholding this information make no sense at all”.
“To provide statistics as to how many of the several dozen used to work for RUC Special Branch is clearly not going to identify anybody,” he said.
“We stress again that this information is not about questioning the ability or integrity of any individuals.
“It is however about ensuring practical independence in legacy investigations.
“The involvement of former Special Branch officers in ICRIR reviews is clearly going to raise particular issues in those legacy cases involving state agents, including informants run by the RUC.”
The ICRIR was contacted.
Ex-PSNI head tells MPs of pressure “from all sides” over threat to Stormont by Legacy murder
Jonathan McCambridge, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, January 22nd, 2026
Sir George Hamilton told MPs he was “getting it from all sides”, including Dublin and London, over the threat to the Stormont power sharing institutions following the murder of Kevin McGuigan.
Mr McGuigan, a father-of-nine, was shot in the Short Strand in Belfast in August 2015.
His shooting had followed the murder of ex-IRA commander Jock Davison in the Market area of the city three months earlier. The two men had been involved in a personal dispute.
Mr McGuigan’s death led then-PSNI chief constable, Sir George, to state that the Provisional IRA still existed and some of its members were involved in the murder.
He said there was no evidence that the killing was sanctioned by the organisation.
The killing led to a period of instability at Stormont, with DUP ministers engaging in a series of rolling resignations in protest at the IRA’s alleged involvement in the shooting.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson raised the issue when Sir George appeared before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee yesterday.
Sir George Hamilton was speaking to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster yesterday about the murder of Kevin McGuigan, who was shot dead in August 2015
Mr Robinson asked: “Can you give an indication to this committee about how difficult a period that was, the position that put you in?”
Sir George said: “I made that call and that statement for policing purposes. The political pressure in that instance was actually not to say what I said, rather than to say it.
“I was getting it from all sides within Northern Ireland and from Dublin and London, about what are you doing? You’re about to bring down the institutions and all the rest of it.
“But we were knocking doors in the Short Strand and the Markets, asking people to come forward with evidence and they were literally telling the detectives on the doorstep, ‘you know who did this, you know who was behind it, we know who was behind it, you’re not going to call it out, because politically, you can’t, but you want me to write a statement and get into a witness box and give evidence, that is not going to happen’.”
‘I was going to do the right thing and then deal with it’
Similar pressure over Northern Bank robbery
Sir George pointed out that one of his predecessors as PSNI chief, Sir Hugh Orde, had “made similar comments” about the IRA’s involvement in the Northern Bank robbery in 2004 and the murder of Robert McCartney in 2005.
He told the committee: “I never really got offended or upset about the political pressure, because I believe that I had my own values and my own understanding of operational independence or operational responsibility.
Kevin McGuigan, a father-of-nine, was shot dead in the Short Strand in Belfast in August 2015
“I was going to do the right thing and then deal with the consequences afterwards, rather than allowing my judgment to be influenced by politicians.
“I listen to anybody, of course, but when it comes to actually making the operational call, that is for the police.”
Mr Robinson asked him if he believed there is a “problem with a section of political leadership in Northern Ireland that they only support policing if policing works for them?”
Sir George said: “I’ve had attempts at influencing operational policing coming from all sides and all kinds of politics.
“If you look at the parading issues, very often from the unionist side of the house, there will be representations made, and representations are fine.
“I would actually welcome those, because it helps you, given the aspect of operational independence or operational responsibility that means that I’m going to be answerable after the fact for what I do here.
“So, the more insight I can get into the political thinking will help me deal with the aftermath.
“But there’s a line somewhere that should not be crossed about appeasement or allowing that degree of political influence to fundamentally skew decisions.”
“I listen to anybody, of course, but when it comes to actually making the operational call, that is for the police.
Former PSNI chief warns of loyalist groups’ influence
MARK HENNESSY, Ireland and Britain Editor, Irish Times, January 22nd, 2026
Loyalist paramilitaries were often behaving as “community workers by day and terrorists by night”, former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable George Hamilton has told a Westminster committee.
Mr Hamilton, who led the PSNI from 2014 to 2019, said loyalist communities must be empowered to resist the influence of paramilitaries in their neighbourhoods who ruled by fear and intimidation.
Though supportive, Mr Hamilton and his predecessor Hugh Orde raised doubts about the likelihood of success of the new investigation into the existence of loyalist groups set up by the Irish and British governments last September.
Fleur Ravensbergen, an independent conflict-resolution and negotiation expert, was appointed to assess whether there was merit in and support for formal engagement with the paramilitary groups to bring about their end.
Some security briefings suggest the Ulster Defence Association has up to 12,000 members today – more than it had at the time of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, though many are said to be “card-carrying only”.
“A lot of these people are still behaving in the same coercive, controlling way around their communities,” Mr Hamilton told the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Wednesday..
‘Extensive Control’ of communities
“These groups are not legitimate, but they do have extensive control within communities, so their view of policing is burning out the drugs house, but it’s probably going to be a drugs competitor that they’re burning out.”
Such coercive control “undermines the ability of the police to operate if there is an alternative policing faction essentially operating within the community”.
Mr Hamilton and Mr Orde both said the costs attached to legacy investigations and any subsequent legal claims must be completely separated from today’s PSNI.
“The funding needs to be completely separated out from policing because it’s just a constant suck on money,” Mr Hamilton said.
Operation Kenova, the long-running investigation into the activities of Freddie Scappaticci, the British Army spy in the Provisional IRA, cost more than twice as much and lasted twice as long as originally thought, he said.
Mr Orde strongly defended the Historical Enquiry Team (HET) he set up to investigate legacy cases, which was eventually brought down by a sharply critical report from HM Inspector of Constabulary in 2015.
Still clearly angry about the closure of the HET, Mr Orde said he remained “very proud of the work they did” and the information about killings that they were able to share with victims’ families.
“We told the families whatever we found out, which for many families was all they wanted to know,” said Mr Orde, who was chief constable from 2002 to 2009.
The civil costs of meeting claims for reparations from victims’ families now “seem uncontrollable”, but most money being paid over by the PSNI was going to lawyers, not the families, he said.
This will financially cripple operational frontline policing in Northern Ireland,” he said, saying that it “soaks resources” away from dealing with today’s challenges.
US co may have pulled 300 jobs over Sinn Féin’s Gaza stance
Minister tells Stormont committee that Cantor Fitzgerald may have U-turned over ‘political statements’
DAVID YOUNG, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, January 22nd, 2026
A MAJOR US multinational pulled plans to create 300 jobs in Northern Ireland due to concerns about political positions adopted by Sinn Fin, a Stormont committee has heard.
Sinn Féin Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald declined to be drawn on the claim that global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald had been preparing to invest in the region, but halted that plan amid concern about her and party’s stances on certain issues.
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley made the claim as the minister appeared before members of her Assembly scrutiny committee.
It is understood Mr Buckley was referring to Sinn Féin’s stance on the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Later in the committee hearing, Department for Economy permanent secretary Ian Snowden confirmed that Cantor Fitzgerald had been planning to create up to 300 jobs in Northern Ireland but “unexpectedly” told Ms Archibald it had shelved the idea during a “quite short” meeting in the United States last March.
Sinn Féin is a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and last year the party boycotted traditional St Patrick’s Day events at the White House in protest at President Donald Trump’s support for Israel.
Mr Trump’s secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick is the former chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.
Mr Buckley put it to Ms Archibald that positions adopted by her and her party had torpedoed the deal.
“In 9/11, Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees who died in the World Trade Centre,” he said.
“There’s a serious concern that has been brought to me that the positions taken by you and your party may have impacted that decision not to invest.
“So has your department or Invest NI (Stormont’s business support agency) received feedback from any US-based investors expressing concern about your political statements, your public commentary, or reputational issues associated from your political party?”
Responding, Ms Archibald said: “Companies make decisions about why they invest or don’t invest based on their own commercial interests, and I think that’s absolutely a matter for them and, in terms of political positions or otherwise that people might hold, that’s for individuals, it’s for parties to express those as they feel.”
Sinn Féin Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald refused to be drawn on the claim made during her appearance yesterday before members of her Assembly scrutiny committee
DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley accused the minister of failing to directly answer the question.
Ms Archibald replied: “I’m happy for the department to correspond with the committee.”
Mr Snowden faced questions later in the committee hearing. He confirmed that Cantor Fitzgerald had planned to create up to 300 jobs in the region.
Trump link
The senior official, who was not present at the meeting in the US, suggested the decision to pull the deal may have been linked to President Trump’s overall approach to US investment overseas.
He said: “I don’t have the detail of it, but one of the assessments that was made was that a senior executive or leader of Cantor Fitzgerald is a member of President Trump’s cabinet, and the policy position that the Trump presidency was taking around overseas investment and so forth may not have aligned with a decision to invest at that point.”
Mr Buckley added: “Or may not have aligned, potentially, with the minister’s position on some of these issues?
“Three hundred jobs is quite a considerable jobs announcement. My understanding is that when the minister travelled, it was almost like a rubber stamping exercise. How big of a shock did this come that the company decided to withdraw?”
Mr Snowden said the department had not received any prior notification that the company was going to tell the minister it was pulling the investment at the meeting.
The permanent secretary confirmed that departmental officials would have a record of what was said at the meeting.
Mr Buckley replied: “Do you not think it is something quite astounding that here we are, nearly a year on, and this committee, and indeed the Assembly was not aware that 300 jobs were lost in that visit last year.”
The official answered: “Prospective inward investments fall through on a regular basis, this is not a unique occurrence.”
The DUP MLA added: “Has there ever been any concern expressed by any US foreign investor about the positions, the policy positions taken by the minister, her public commentary, and indeed that of her party when it comes to investment decisions?”
Mr Snowden responded: “Not to me, or I believe any official in the department.”
Mr Buckley asked the permanent secretary to release all information relating to the meeting to “ensure that we can get to the bottom of why 300 jobs did not come to Northern Ireland following that meeting”.
DUP committee chair Philip Brett asked Mr Snowden had he not asked officials who did attend the meeting what reasons were given by Cantor Fitzgerald for the investment U-turn.
“I don’t want to breach any confidences that the company had provided, but they give their reasons that they weren’t going to proceed to invest overseas,” he replied.
Mr Buckley interjected: “You’ve now stated that they give specific reason, I would expect that the committee will be furnished with those reasons that were provided so that we can ascertain their reasoning for not investing here in Northern Ireland, and whether or not the minister’s position on policy issues was a factor.”
Mr Snowden replied: “We’ll get the record of the meeting.”
Sinn Fein MLA Gemma Dolan told the committee that because Mr Snowden was not present at the meeting, he would be unlikely to be able to tell members any more about what happened at it.
Mr Brett welcomed Mr Snowden’s commitment to provide the committee with the record of the reasons that were given by the company in the meeting.
Cantor Fitzgerald has been approached for comment.
OFDFM clocks up £8.5m on temporary staff in five years
Total outlay on agency recruits does not include another £6m spent by the department’s arms-length bodies
CONOR COYLE, Irish News, January 22nd, 2026
THE Stormont department headed by the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister has been criticised over an £8.5million spend on temporary agency staff in the last five years.
The Executive Office, the Stormont department run by Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly, has racked up spending on agency workers of £8,444,270 on top of its 380 permanent employees since 2020.
The total spend on agency staff does not include another £6million spent by the department’s armslength bodies, funded by The Executive Office but with operational independence.
The figures were revealed following an Assembly Question sent to TEO by DUP MLA Diane Dodds.
5,000 staff on temporary contracts
Stormont departments have been urged to act as the number of temporary staff being used to fill roles in the 11 departments have soared to close to 5,000.
More than £135m was spent employing temporary workers across the Northern Ireland Civil Service in the last year alone.
Annually, in the last year The Executive Office’s spend on agency staff was £1.9million, in line with the previous year’s spend and down from a high of £2.5m two years ago.
Among the arms-length bodies which accrued the highest spend under The Executive Office in the last five years was The Equality Commission (£1.3m) and the Victims and Survivors’ Service (£1.9m).
More than £650,000 has been spent providing temporary staff to the Strategic Investment Board, a private company owned by TEO with the aim of “delivering major projects and programmes, championing reform and supporting the objectives set out in the NI Executive’s Programme for Government”.
The Executive Office says temporary staff are hired “when business needs arise” due to vacancies or work priorities.
The Stormont department said the figures included temporary staff hired via agencies, temporary jobs in a civil service exchange scheme, as well as NI Statistical Research Agency staff and seconded staff from the NI Courts and Tribunal Service.
“Within the NICS, agency staff are engaged under a central Agency Workers Protocol that was procured by CPD and is managed by NICS HR. Rates are set through competitive public procurement in line with NICS regulations,” the response to the Assembly Question stated.
“Departments and arm’s-length bodies use this contract when business needs arise, mainly due to vacancies or work priorities. Roles match substantive posts and require job descriptions.
“Departments are encouraged to prioritise permanent appointments over temporary solutions wherever possible.
“NICS HR is working to reduce reliance on agency staff through permanent recruitment and workforce planning.”
People before Profit
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said the continuing and widespread use of staff on temporary contracts must end.
“The First Minister often talks about the need to stand up for workers and workers’ rights but plainly refuses to do it in her own department and bodies connected to it,” the West Belfast MLA said.
“It’s been well documented how agency workers have fewer rights than workers who have permanent and secure contracts, find it harder to get mortgages and have limited sick leave and other benefits.
“I call on the First Minister as a matter of urgency to ensure that this practice ends and that all workers within The Executive Office and arms length bodies are employed under permanent contracts that treat workers with respect and dignity.”
Nesbitt to stay as health chief... but Burrows must tame the dissent
SUZANNE BREEN, Belfast Telegraph, January 22nd, 2026
The incoming Ulster Unionist leader will next week announce his decision on the political future of the man who currently holds the top job in the party. Mike Nesbitt is handing the reins over to Jon Burrows in the UUP, but he has made clear on numerous occasions that he wants to stay on as Health Minister.
It's impossible to see Burrows removing him. The North Antrim MLA was co-opted into his Assembly seat six months ago under Nesbitt's leadership.
To sack him would be an act of utter disloyalty. Besides, there aren't credible alternatives. No UUP MLA has ministerial experience.
Nesbitt is well-liked by his Executive colleagues who praise his “collegiate approach”.
The outgoing UUP leader likely envisaged Robbie Butler would succeed him when he mooted the idea last summer that he might quit at the end of the year.
However, Nesbitt stayed neutral in internal discussions about the leadership. He is unlikely to pose any problems for Burrows moving forward.
Silent victory
It's an entirely different matter regarding some other MLAs. The lack of congratulations offered to the incoming leader was noticeable.
On social media, Robbie Butler has appeared to gently mock Burrows, who hasn't responded in kind.
Instead, he has publicly praised the Lagan Valley MLA both on social and mainstream media. But Burrows has some big calls to make next week when he announces his Assembly team reshuffle.
MLAs in all parties are keen to secure certain paid positions in Stormont, which boost their salaries. Butler holds the UUP's only statutory committee chair (agriculture).
Assembly members earn £53,000, rising to £65,000 if they chair a statutory committee. Some rural UUP members believe Butler hasn't been tough enough with minister Andrew Muir, and would prefer an MLA who would adopt a different approach.
However, Burrows may decide the smartest strategic move is to keep Butler in place given that he's already losing the deputy leadership to Diana Armstrong.
But if Butler retains the committee chair, there will then surely be an expectation of loyalty from Burrows.
An MLA serving as deputy Speaker earns £59,000. Steve Aiken holds this position — one he enjoys. Burrows won't demote him, so if he moves him it would surely be to another position for which he'd receive similar remuneration. An MLA serving on the Assembly Commission earns £59,000. It's chaired by the Speaker Edwin Poots with Sinn Fein, the DUP, Alliance, SDLP, and UUP having one member each on it.
Parties generally put their chief whip on the commission. However, the UUP representative is East Belfast MLA Andy Allen, not outgoing chief whip Robbie Butler.
Burrows may consider putting whoever he appoints as the party's new chief whip on the commission.
Doug Beattie sits on the justice committee, an unpaid position some thought Burrows would secure when he was co-opted.
Despite his PSNI experience and eagerness to hold Naomi Long to account, the incoming UUP leader has signalled he doesn't want to be pigeon-holed into a justice/policing role.
North Down MLA Alan Chambers sits on the Policing Board, another unpaid position which often involves lengthy meetings but can offer a high public profile.
Burrows hasn't publicly acknowledged the opposition to him among some in the UUP's Assembly team. He shares their social media posts, but they don't return the favour.
In internal meetings with the MLAs, he is likely to address that opposition in candid and clear terms. While he will surely opt for conciliation, not confrontation, in the early days, it's impossible to see him adopting an all carrot and no stick approach in perpetuity.
Burrows' political style so far would indicate that, while there will be an incentive for MLAs to remain loyal, he won't continually tiptoe around those who don't.
Troubles-themed board game slammed for 'minimising' suffering of real victims
JESSICA RICE, Belfast Telegraph, January 22nd, 2026
DIRECTOR OF SEFF CONDEMNS MEDIUM THAT HAS USERS PLAY AS 'TERRORISTS'
A Troubles-themed board game which features cards focused around bombings, allows users to play as terrorists and references “Stakeknife” has been slammed for “minimising” victims' suffering.
The game — The Troubles: Shadow War in Northern Ireland — allows players to play as 'the British Forces', 'the RUC', 'the IRA', 'the Loyalist Paramilitaries' and nationalist or unionist politicians.
Produced by Compass Games, the 'card-driven simulation' game is available for pre-order on the company's website for $85 (£63.20).
The game was designed by Hugh O'Donnell, a Scottish secondary school teacher.
However, Kenny Donaldson, director of SEFF, raised concerns that the game is “minimising” the ordeal of victims in Northern Ireland.
“There will be victims and survivors who will feel triggered by this new US-produced board game and will feel that it has the effect of minimising their suffering,” he said.
A description from Compass Games' website explained that the 2-6 player game is moderately complex, with a playing time of six hours per scenario.
The main image of the game is a photo of the Londonderry mural The Petrol Bomber.
Images on the website for the game show cards titled “Bombing”, “Nutting Squad”, “Internment”, “Sniper at Work”, “Blanket Protest”, “Stakeknife”, “Dirty Tricks”, “Bandit Country” and a host of others.
Action cards depict historical events that happened during the Troubles.
One card visual on the website is titled “Operation Motorman”.
Players
The card tells players to “place up to 4 British forces in Belfast/Derry, -1 IRA Resources, + 1 Civilian Casualty, -1 IRA support, move all IRA volunteers from Belfast West to Belfast South.”
Operation Motorman was an Army operation involving thousands of soldiers in July 1972, aimed at re-taking certain “no-go areas” in Belfast and Derry.
During the operation, nine people were killed, including 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in Derry. Another action card in the game is titled “DUP meets SDLP”.
The card states “-1 Nationalist Politician, -1 Unionist Politician”.
The image used on the card is not an image of the DUP meeting the SDLP, instead, the game developers used the iconic image of SDLP leader John Hume confronting a soldier at an anti-internment demonstration along Magilligan Strand.
The government in Westminster introduced internment here in 1971, and Hume organised several protests against the policy.
The website of the game also features an action card with a famous image of Ian Paisley Snr leaving Stormont in 1969. The card is titled “Ulster Unionist Action Council Strike”.
The Ulster Unionist Action Council Strike was a general strike that took place between May 15 and May 28, 1974. It led to the end of the Sunningdale Agreement.
Troubling victims
Mr Donaldson explained he was deeply concerned by the wording used.
He claimed it indicates that the game developers don't fully understand the Troubles and their lasting impact.
“The narrative description on the website of the company concerned is also quite troubling, depicting the paramilitary and security force conflict that gripped Northern Ireland for almost four decades between 1964 and 1998,” he added.
“At best, there is naivety displayed by the developers and at worst, there is an attempt to project a falsified narrative of what actually happened.”
He feels the developers should have consulted experts in Northern Ireland before creating the game.
“Did they speak with victims, survivors and/or carry out an impact assessment to examine any risks of re-triggering trauma?”
Mr Donaldson said he also doesn't believe the game could be used to educate users on the Troubles.
“As a group [SEFF] are heavily involved with different initiatives examining the Troubles through the lens of education, learning and promoting non-recurrence of violence.
“We engage with this work sensitively and in a trauma-informed manner.
“It is not evident that this has been the case with this particular board game education resource,” Mr Donaldson said.
Speaking to the Board Games Chronicle, the game's creator, Mr O'Donnell, said he understood the game's sensitive subject.
“[The game] has been undertaken with complete probity and sensitivity towards the subject matter and the people affected directly or indirectly,” he said.
“If card-driven games and simulations are engaging and interactive, why shouldn't these mediums be sensitively used to study such important historical events, given the significant coverage already in the more passive mediums of print and film? Surely they, too, are worthy of simulation?”
Compass Games also creates many 'military simulation games', with some of their best sellers including games about the American Revolution, the First World War and a futuristic game about a Third World War.
Compass Games and Mr O'Donnell have been contacted for comment.
Carl Frampton wants to be proud holder of NI passport...
and he would be at the front of a very long queue
JOHN LAVERTY, Belfast Telegraph, January 22nd, 2026
It wasn't much fun being a Catholic unionist or one of those even rarer creatures — a Protestant nationalist — in the bad old days. The first challenge was convincing folk in a deeply polarised, politically binary Troubles-era Northern Ireland that your ilk even existed.
But you couldn't do that without raising your head above the parapet and, anyway, it wouldn't have granted you immunity from sectarian murder gangs, or cynicism-free acceptance from 'your own kind'.
It's different now. Latest stats reveal that almost half of NI residents now hold Irish passports — a figure that includes hardline loyalists and well-known unionist politicians.
You would, however, need to be the most optimistic republican, or indeed the most pessimistic unionist, to believe this suggests an inevitable surge towards reunification.
If anything, it's the opposite; a calm acceptance of the right of folk here to identify as British, Irish or Northern Irish — with support for the status quo continuing indefinitely.
After all — and more than a century after most of 'Little Britain' (ancient geographers' term for the emerald isle) uncoupled itself from 'Great' Britain — the Republic has minimised the Catholic Church's influence while remaining almost totally dependent on the UK for defence.
Indifference to any seismic change, meanwhile, was exemplified last week courtesy of our latest 'flag row'.
Contre temps rather than conflict
I refer you to that brief contretemps over a renewed attempt by Commonwealth Games NI (CGNI) to have the Ulster Banner replaced by a more inclusive, corporate logo.
Sports minister Gordon Lyons swiftly closed the debate down by giving “clear and unequivocal guidance” to the CGNI — roughly translated as “not happening, mate”.
I say “swiftly” although, to be fair, the Commonwealth guys had been waiting for Stormont 'guidance' on the issue since November 2020; are they unaware of how slowly the wheels of government turn up there?
It was left to Carl Frampton to articulate what so many others were already thinking.
The Tigers Bay-born boxing legend, who says what he means and means what he says, told Radio Ulster he'd have been disappointed if the Ulster Banner was replaced because “it represents me”, adding: “you can't get a Northern Irish passport, but if you could, I'd have one.
“First and foremost, I see myself as a person from Northern Ireland. If you want to call me Irish, or British, that's absolutely fine as well.
“And in some way, we identify as all three; Northern Irish, Irish and British.”
He concluded: “That's my opinion, and this may not be the opinion of other people...”
Trust me, Carl, it is. A lot of other people.
And what a great idea a separate, distinctive Northern Ireland passport would be, representing the significant number of folk here who are fed up with the ongoing either/or nonsense.
But what would the document's logo be... a harp? Nah, would look too similar to the Republic's one. Titanic? Mmm, maybe too symbolic of doom and disaster, although “that boat was alright when it left here”.
Okay, let's wrap up this fever dream by opting for the tried and trusted, inoffensive Giant's Causeway.
It wouldn't solve the 'fleg' issue though, and no one's pretending the Ulster Banner, which ceased to have any official status over half a century ago, isn't divisive to many.
It's still used to mark out loyalist territory here, as is the Union Flag. But this doesn't grant that cohort exclusive ownership, and why shouldn't the same emblems continue to be used for more 'official' scenarios?
CGNI argued that a red cross on a white background, with a red hand in the middle, was offensive to some athletes.
No complaints
That may be so, but I was sports editor of this paper for many years, and never once heard a Commonwealth Games-bound athlete, or Northern Ireland footballer, complain about it.
Rory McIlroy has no qualms about draping himself in the Banner when winning Ryder Cups or golfing majors; ditto gymnast Rhys McClenaghan with the Tricolour around his shoulders after Olympic gold ecstasy in Paris.
They couldn't care less — so why should anyone else in this wasteland of whataboutery?
I suspect both those men would happily, like fellow sporting superstar Frampton, tick 'Northern Irish' on a census form, with the 'Irish' referring to simple geography rather than constitutional politics.
It wouldn't make you less Irish, or indeed less British. It does, however, mean you reside in a unique place boasting strong connections to Ireland, the UK and the European Union.
Those tripartite ties are what renders the region so attractive to a lot of people living there; interdependence as opposed to independence.
Northern Ireland's cultural diversity, however, makes it extremely difficult for anyone to come up with a flag or anthem that would satisfy all and sundry.
Don't forget that the sectarian murders ended in 1998 courtesy of an agreement based on an idealistic, unsatisfactory, imperfect compromise.
If you want something with no political connotations, you're asking for the troubled history that brought us this far to go unrecognised.
The best 'symbols' of a modern-day, inclusive, cosmopolitan Northern Ireland are proud, unofficial ambassadors such as Carl Frampton.
