Mr Adams has consistently denied being a member of the IRA. A clause in the act currently blocks payouts to him and about 400 other people also interned. Labour, which has begun the process of repealing the act, said the previous government's approach to legacy was "almost universally opposed in Northern Ireland".

A thinktank backed by 16 peers has criticised the government's plan to lift a ban on compensation for unlawful detention during the Troubles.

Sir Keir Starmer said he was looking at ‘every conceivable way’ to prevent compensation being paid to Mr Adams and others interned in the Troubles.

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is in line for "a pay day from the taxpayer" under plans to repeal the Legacy Act, a report backed by several peers has stated.

GERRY Adams will be blocked from claiming taxpayer-funded compensation if possible, Sir Keir Starmer pledged today following a massive backlash. The PM pledged to “look at every conceivable way”

Why is Gerry Adams in line for a ‘pay day from the taxpayer’ if Legacy Act repealed? BBC NI Crime and Justice Correspondent Julian O'Neill explains.

Gerry Adams is in line for taxpayer-funded compensation because of Sir Keir Starmer’s human rights plans, senior peers have warned.

Conservative Kemi Badenoch said in the Commons it was 'shameful' Sir Keir is proposing to 'write a cheque to compensate Gerry Adams'. Sir Keir was grilled on the prospect of the former Sinn Fein leader receiving a payout during PMQs.

Sir Keir Starmer was speaking in the House of Commons after the Conservatives said it was "shameful" that repealing the Legacy Act could put Mr Adams in line for a "cheque". The Legacy Act presently blocks him - and many others interned without trial in the 1970s - from claiming compensation for unlawful detention.