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Politics18 outlets ran this3 min read

Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane

Northern Ireland First Minister and MP John Finucane call Conservative MP's remarks 'shameful' and 'contemptible'.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned the remarks (Liam McBurney/PA)

What this story says

  • Sir David Davis referred to "IRA lawyers" during a House of Commons debate on the government's Troubles Legacy Bill.
  • Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned the remarks as "shameful".
  • John Finucane, MP for North Belfast and son of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, called the comments "contemptible" and requested an apology.
  • The Law Society of Northern Ireland expressed "deep concern" over the characterisation of legal professionals.

Who covered it

Left 33%(6)Centre 67%(12)Right 0%(0)

Percentages are shares of the 18 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .

Trust

54/100

Craft

87/100

Hype

18/100

18 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

None of the 18 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Conservative MP Sir David Davis used the phrase "IRA lawyers" during a debate in the House of Commons concerning the government's Legacy Bill. He stated that these lawyers were "more interested in drama than justice" and that he "would rather see the dispassionate actions of the (Legacy) commission than the activities of IRA lawyers in the courts" when discussing the prosecution of British Army veterans for incidents during the Troubles.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill described Sir David Davis's comments as "shameful" and "reprehensible". She highlighted the historical context, referencing the murders of human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson and solicitor Pat Finucane, suggesting such language could lead to violence. The Law Society of Northern Ireland also voiced "deep concern" about the characterisation of legal professionals in Parliament.

John Finucane, the MP for North Belfast and son of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, wrote an open letter to Sir David Davis calling for an apology. Mr Finucane stated that the reference to "IRA lawyers" was "contemptible", recalling his experience of seeing his father shot dead when he was eight years old. He questioned whether Sir David Davis would speak about English solicitors in the same manner and asserted that the lawyers being discredited were using the law to hold power to account, representing families who had endured "murder, collusion, cover ups and decades of obstruction."

Disagreement on the context of the remarks

The BBC reported that Sir David Davis referred to "the activities of IRA lawyers in the courts". The Herald Scotland and the Evening Standard stated that Sir David Davis referred to "IRA lawyers" being "more interested in drama than justice" and that he "would rather see the dispassionate actions of the (Legacy) commission than the activities of IRA lawyers in the courts" while talking about the prosecution of British Army veterans for incidents during the Troubles.

What the coverage left out

None of the reports below mention the Law Society of Northern Ireland's statement expressing "deep concern" over the characterisation of legal professionals.

Tags:#TroublesBill#DavidDavis#MichelleONeill#JohnFinucane#LegacyBill#NorthernIreland

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 22 Oct 2026, 08:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane
Evening StandardCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

6 rated outlets

  • The Herald Scotland led with Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemning the "IRA lawyers" comment as "shameful". The report detailed Sir David Davis's remarks about "IRA lawyers" being "more interested in drama than justice" and his preference for the Legacy commission over "IRA lawyers in the courts". It included extensive quotes from John Finucane's open letter, where he described the reference as "contemptible" and recalled his father's murder. The article also quoted Ms O'Neill directly, who called the comments "absolutely shameful" and "reprehensible", linking such rhetoric to the killings of Rosemary Nelson and Pat Finucane.

Centre

12 rated outlets

  • The Evening Standard and BBC News both highlighted John Finucane's criticism of Sir David Davis over the "IRA lawyers" comments. The Evening Standard's report stated that Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill also blasted the remarks as "shameful". Both outlets included details of Sir David Davis's comments in the House of Commons debate on the Legacy Bill. The Evening Standard's report featured extensive quotes from John Finucane's open letter, mirroring The Herald Scotland's coverage, and also quoted Ms O'Neill's condemnation. The BBC's digest noted Davis's reference to "the activities of IRA lawyers in the courts" during the debate.

Right

0 rated outlets

No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane?
Of the 18 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 33% are rated left, 67% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 18 rated outlets on this story, 33% are rated left, 67% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane biased?
Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Davis 'IRA lawyers' comment draws condemnation from O'Neill and Finucane?
18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What did Sir David Davis say about lawyers?
During a debate on the government's Legacy Bill, Conservative MP Sir David Davis referred to "IRA lawyers", stating they were "more interested in drama than justice" and that he preferred the Legacy commission's actions to "IRA lawyers in the courts".
Who condemned Sir David Davis's remarks?
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned the comments as "shameful" and "reprehensible". John Finucane, MP for North Belfast and son of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, called the remarks "contemptible" and demanded an apology.
What is the context of the "IRA lawyers" comment?
The remarks were made during a House of Commons debate on the government's Legacy Bill, which concerns prosecutions of British Army veterans for incidents during the Troubles. The phrase has drawn parallels to past comments made in 1989 about solicitors in Northern Ireland.

Read it at the source

18 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

6

Centre

12
Show 4 more

Right

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Not rated

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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