This year’s Herefordshire High Sheriff’s Lecture will be an opportunity to attend a live recording of the podcast Law and Disorder, https://share.google/sGPXrUUl9gJpRVLb6 where hosts Nicholas Mostyn and Charlie Falconer will discuss with expert solicitor Philip Barden the proposed changes to UK law as it applies to the actions of soldiers during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Central to the discussion is the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, due back before Parliament this Autumn, which would remove the conditional immunity from prosecution introduced by the previous government’s Legacy Act. The panel will weigh both sides: that former service personnel should not face renewed investigation, a generation on, for actions taken under the rules of engagement then in force; and that the immunity scheme was found by the Northern Ireland courts to breach the UK’s human rights obligations, and was opposed by victims’ families and groups across the community.

They will also consider what this means for national security and the relationship between government and the armed forces – could ongoing investigation of legacy cases deter future personnel from acting on the state’s behalf, and how does that weigh against victims’ claims to justice and the UK’s human rights commitments?

The recording will be followed by an opportunity to pose your own questions to our panel. I do hope that you will join us.

Tickets can be booked at

https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/shrievallecture2026