Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant said on Monday during a visit to Dublin that it was "full steam ahead" for the government's Troubles legacy legislation through Parliament and that the bill was "about getting answers for families".

He added that he was worried some people had "misunderstood the purpose" of the bill.

Claire Hayes, whose 16-year-old brother Alan Radford was killed in the Omagh bombing on 15 August 1998, said the comments were "vague". She said the Secretary was optimistic about relying on the Irish government to work in lockstep with the British government, but that this would never happen. She added that the focus should be on justice and that there had been a failing of justice in all these cases, which should have started with criminal convictions.

Kate Nash, whose 19-year-old brother William was shot dead on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry on 30 January 1972, said there was no misunderstanding. She said that after 54 years, her family understood exactly and that there had always been immunity for soldiers. She said the authorities had failed to use the justice system honestly.

Sir Chris Bryant responded during a visit to Derry on Tuesday. He said the most important thing about the bill was to get answers for people, and that he had met families who were feeling anger, resentment and pain because they had never had the answers they deserved. He said the government needed to provide candour and that amendments would make clear that he was not drawing a moral equivalence between terrorist acts and lawful actions of those trying to preserve peace. He also said many veterans and their families were victims themselves.

The proposed legislation would replace the existing Legacy Act, which introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to Troubles-era incidents. The new plan includes a Legacy Commission to investigate Troubles-related killings, a separate information recovery body and a dedicated legacy unit within An Garda Síochána. The UK government has also proposed protections for veterans.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the concerns of families were real and substantive, and that the answer was not to explain the legislation better but to make it better. He said legacy was too important to get wrong again and that the legislation must ensure equality before the law, with nobody receiving preferential treatment because of who they are or who they served with.

DUP MLA Phillip Brett said there were concerns right across the board and that the legislation must address the needs of victims and survivors, who had seen the legacy process become corrupted over the years. He said the aim was to deliver legislation that ensured all victims in Northern Ireland could get truth and justice.