Minutes from a closed working group convened by the Northern Ireland Office in June and July 2020 show that participants included officials with ties to policing and national security services.

The group was formed to examine proposals later enacted in the Legacy Act, which took effect on 1 May 2024 and closed hundreds of existing legacy cases.

Attendees included former PSNI chief constable George Hamilton, then-NIO permanent secretary Madeleine Alessandri, then-Home Office national security director Chloe Squire, and then-Attorney General's Office director Shehzad Charania.

The documents record discussion of closing most of the approximately 3,500 Troubles-related cases within six to twelve months and shifting remaining cases to an information recovery process.

The minutes note that the group considered a legal bar on further criminal investigations as a means to provide certainty and encourage information recovery.

The PSNI declined to participate in the group.

Daniel Holder of the Committee on the Administration of Justice obtained the minutes through freedom of information requests and stated that the group's composition raised concerns given its role in shaping policy on investigations involving state agencies.

Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice criticised comments in the minutes that referred to families seeking answers as a small vocal minority.

George Hamilton stated that his participation aimed to ensure lessons from prior legacy processes were considered and that he had advocated for victims and families to remain central to any new mechanism.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said the documents relate to a group established under the previous government and that the current government is repealing and replacing the Legacy Act.