9 December 2025
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has welcomed today’s Final Kenova Report as a blueprint for how legacy investigations should be conducted, and has called on the UK Government to embed the Kenova principles in any future Legacy Commission.
The SDLP is also urging the Government to urgently review its Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) policy. And in light of the late disclosure of MI5 files to Operation Kenova, the party is calling on the PPS to provide a public update on its review of Kenova-related decisions.
Commenting on the report, Claire Hanna MP said:
“Our thoughts today are with the victims and survivors who engaged with Operation Kenova. Their loss and hurt must remain at the centre of our approach to this report and its findings.
“Freddie Scappaticci, the IRA and elements of the security establishment acted as if immune from the law during the Troubles. Kenova lays bare the bandit-style operations run by MI5, the FRU and Special Branch, and their disregard for the basic human rights of ordinary citizens.
“The Secretary of State must now guarantee that neither NCND nor a national security veto will be used in any future Legacy Commission to shield the reputation of a British Government that enabled war criminals in a squalid sectarian conflict.
“The SDLP remains clear: no organisation that is responsible for killing should be able to block a victim’s pathway to truth and justice. We are determined to deliver a joint framework that ensures maximum disclosure, compliance with the ECHR, and meets the needs of victims and survivors.”