Mr Brokenshire has been critical of what he calls “the imbalance of the current system of legacy investigations” - words which drew ire from ex-Justice Minister David Ford.

He has now said that investigating Troubles deaths in chronological order would be fairer and would resolve what he has called a “disproportionate” focus on prosecuting former British soldiers for their actions during the Troubles.

Mr Brokenshire said: “The proposed new institutions, set out in the Stormont House Agreement, have a number of important advantages over the system currently in place in Northern Ireland, including that they will consider deaths in chronological order.

“This will ensure that outstanding investigations into terrorist murders, including the murder of 185 soldiers, are investigated and evidential leads are pursued.”

The implementation of new institutions to carry out legacy investigations has largely stalled due to a lack of political consensus in the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, has complained of a “wasted year” because of the lack of progress.