MoD obliged to preserve records relating to Troubles for next 10 years
The Ministry of Defence has been obliged to preserve records relating to the Troubles in Northern Ireland for the next 10 years.
It is believed to cover some 50,000 documents relating to Operation Banner, and comes after a request by lawyers for the family of a teenage girl killed in Londonderry in 1971.
Annette McGavigan, 14, was killed during unrest in Derry on September 6. She was said to have been playing with a friend when she was shot dead.
Her family has been campaigning for decades for answers and justice. There is a mural in her memory in the Bogside area of the city.
Last year, Northern Ireland's Attorney General Dame Brenda King granted a fresh inquest into Miss McGavigan's death, but that came just before the former Government's Legacy Act deadline which halted all inquests which had not reached their final stages.
It also followed a decision by the Public Prosecution Service not to prosecute a former soldier in relation to the teenager's death.
Miss McGavigan's family has expressed hope that the current Labour Government will honour the fresh inquests directed by the Attorney General before the cut-off date in April 2024.
It is understood that there are some 22 inquests relating to more than 40 deaths in Northern Ireland still outstanding, with some other previously unallocated legacy inquests also due to be honoured.
Patricia Coyle, solicitor for Miss McGavigan's family, said they have secured a Preservation Order for the MoD documents for a further period of 10 years to 2035.
They wrote to the MoD, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (SSCMS) in April to request an extension of an existing Preservation Order for all MoD Operation Banner documents dating from August 1969 to July 2007.
The 2014 order listed the documents to be preserved as including 'operational briefs and summaries, log sheets, patrol and incident reports from Operation Banner in Northern Ireland'.
Miss Gavigan's family said they want to ensure that the MoD continues to preserve all Army documents relating to Operation Banner for the period 1969 to 2007 so that they, and other families seeking information in legacy cases, can access relevant state materials for the purposes of future legacy inquests, civil actions and public inquiries.
Ms Coyle said the Preservation Order is of the utmost importance to all families seeking answers over incidents involving the Army during the Troubles.
'In 2015, my clients sought the preservation of all relevant MoD documents relating to British Army's activities in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007,' she said.
'In particular they wished to secure the preservation of all Army documents relating to the killing of their 14-year-old sister Annette on September 6 1971 in Derry so these are available for the fresh inquest they achieved last year.'
She said the first Preservation Order for these documents was granted in December 2014 for 10 years.
'The legal obligation to preserve 50,000 Army records relating to Northern Ireland was transferred from the Lord Chancellor to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport (SSCMS) in 2015,' she said.
'In April, this year our clients sought a further Preservation Order from the MoD, Lord Chancellor and SSCMS. Lawyers acting on behalf of the Ministry of Defence have now confirmed that a further 10-year Preservation Order was signed by SSCMS on May 6 2025.
'The preservation of these records is of paramount importance for all families in Northern Ireland who seek access to information and truth about the killing of their loved ones in cases involving the Army.'
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