Acknowledging the past in the post truth era: witch-hunts, lawfare and the veterans' amnesty in Northern Ireland

Using the amnesty introduced by the Boris Johnson government designed to protect British army veterans who served in Northern Ireland as a case study, this article examines the intersection between law, politics and the legacy of conflict. The article first offers an account of the amnesty's genesis and traces the evolution and deployment of the witch-hunt narrative to rationalise its introduction. Next, it explores the related claim that addressing the past in Northern Ireland was a variant of lawfare against the British state as part of a broader effort to rewrite the past. Finally, it explores the broader relevance of this episode to debates concerning post-truth discourses in transitional justice and the challenges it suggests to long held assumptions about law, truth and acknowledging the wrongs of the past in the field.