THE UK PRIME Minister and Northern Ireland Secretary must meet families of Troubles victims, according to a campaigner opposed to the UK Government’s introduction of controversial legacy legislation.

Raymond McCord, whose son was killed by loyalists, accused Boris Johnson of hypocrisy in his treatment of the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill.

Introduced to the House of Commons last week, the draft laws offer immunity to those deemed to have co-operated with an information retrieval body.

The UK Government said the bill aims to provide better outcomes for victims, survivors and veterans.

But McCord, of The Truth And Justice Movement, said the only people who benefit from the proposed legacy legislation are murderers and terrorists.

“The losers all round are the victims and their families,” he told the PA news agency.

McCord is in London for the debating of the legislation today.

He said Johnson and Brandon Lewis, the UK’s Northern Ireland Secretary, as well as many other MPs treat families of Troubles victims as “daft Paddies”.

McCord said: “If they were at school and they were doing an O-level for Northern Ireland they would all fail. It’s as simple as that.

“And for people who went to university, they’re very uneducated people relating to part of the UK.”

He added: “They treat us as if we’re all daft Paddies. We’re anything but it.”

“They really need to sit down and listen to victims’ stories, victims telling their stories. Not being told by the police, not being told by an MP for Northern Ireland or an MLA.”

The bill would stop future inquests and civil actions related to the Troubles, although it does not fully close the door to criminal prosecutions.

The proposed legislation has been widely criticised by Northern Ireland’s political parties, as well as victims’ campaigners, the Irish Government and Amnesty International.

The bill is due to go through its second reading on today, in which the main principles of the bill are debated by MPs.

Three stages are due after that before the bill can be voted into law.

McCord said Johnson speaks about the Northern Ireland Protocol having to change because there is not consent from both communities.

He suggests this is hypocritical due to the lack of consent over the legacy legislation.

“Well, relating to these proposals there’s consent from no community, from no politician, no victims’ group, no individual victim,” he said.

“What I’m saying is it’s hypocrisy in relation to Northern Ireland,” he said, adding: “He’s making the protocol a bigger issue than the deaths of thousands of innocent children, women and men.”

Asked what he would say to Johnson, McCord said: “I’d tell him to resign because he’s not fit to serve his office because of what he’s doing to victims.”

Meanwhile, a delegation from the Relatives For Justice group will gather in London’s Parliament Square at 1pm, and walk to 10 Downing Street to deliver a letter setting out opposition to the bill at 2.30pm.

Mark Kelly, whose 12-year-old sister Carol Ann was killed by the British Army in 1981, said the bill would “deny all families who had loved ones killed truth, justice and accountability, irrelevant of who the perpetrators were”.

“It will close down investigations, inquests, police ombudsman inquiries and civil cases,” he said.

“These investigative processes are working perfectly well, and to good effect, on behalf of families save for interference by the British Government.

“That is precisely why the British Government has unilaterally tabled this amnesty bill despite being fully aware of universal opposition to their amnesty plans. There is no support for this bill whatsoever.

“The Irish government, all the political parties here and the opposition parties in Britain oppose this bill – but most importantly, victims from across the community oppose the bill.”