The UK government would be betraying victims’ fundamental rights by introducing a “statute of limitations” to block the investigation of crimes committed by security forces during the Troubles, Amnesty International has warned.

The human rights group’s intervention follows a statement from Sinn Féin issued after a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May, in which the party revealed it would be proposed in the impending consultation on the Stormont House Agreement Bill.

Amnesty said any statute of limitations imposed to “block investigations for killings and torture carried out by members of the UK armed services during three decades of political violence in Northern Ireland would be an utter betrayal of victims’ fundamental rights to justice”.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, added: “The idea of a time bar on investigations of crimes committed by soldiers during the Northern Ireland conflict appears to be gaining ground in Westminster.

“Such a move would in effect be the granting of a blanket amnesty for human rights abuses committed by former members of the security forces in Northern Ireland and would be an utter betrayal of victims’ fundamental right to justice.

“Any such move by the UK Government would fly in the face of international human rights standards and perpetuate impunity.”

Mr Corrigan (pictured) added: “All victims of killings and other human rights violations and abuses from Northern Ireland’s recent past have a human right to proper independent investigations, with the possibility of prosecutions to follow where the evidence leads. This is true, whatever the identity of the victim and whatever the identity of the perpetrator.

“Any attempt at political interference with that fundamental principle debases natural justice and would be in breach of the UK’s international human rights commitments.”

Amnesty is instead calling for a “comprehensive mechanism” to be set up to review “the conflict as a whole, establish the truth about outstanding human rights violations and determine responsibility”.