Barra McGrory KC SC, who held the post from 2011 to 2017, described the proposal as a “significant backward step” that could damage public confidence in the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Speaking to BBC News NI, he said: “If the director of public prosecutions can’t be trusted to independently take decisions on troubles-related cases. Well, then, people are going to start questioning whether or not the DPP can be trusted to take decisions locally, and that is not healthy.”

The proposal is among changes to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill currently progressing through Westminster. It would require the attorney general, who also serves as advocate general for Northern Ireland, to consent to prosecutions. The Northern Ireland Office said the measure followed a recommendation by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Mr McGrory said the arrangement would reverse reforms introduced as part of the criminal justice changes following the Good Friday Agreement, which made the DPP’s office completely independent.

“It has significantly undermined that very carefully crafted suite of reforms that were introduced back in the early 2000s. So it’s a backward step,” he said.

He warned that having Troubles-related cases decided by the attorney general while other prosecutions remained with the local DPP would create a “two-tier” justice system.

“The public will say we are expected to have belief and trust in our DPP as someone who can take his decisions independently and impartially and on the evidence.

“But when it comes to this class of suspect, we’re told that our DPP isn’t good enough. So what does that say?”

He added: “We will have a hierarchy of victim, and that is not healthy.”

Mr McGrory said he would not have applied for the DPP role had the proposed arrangement been in place when he was appointed, explaining that independence was the reason he sought the position.

He praised PPS staff as “highly-skilled… independent people” but said the final decision would no longer rest with their director, undermining internal confidence.

He also questioned the Irish Government’s lack of response, saying he would have expected it to be “deeply concerned” about a change it would not tolerate in its own jurisdiction.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said the bill would repeal the Legacy Act’s immunity scheme and enable families to seek answers and accountability over their relatives’ deaths.

The spokesperson added that the attorney general would have to act “quasi-judicially and independently of the government”, applying established prosecution principles on evidential sufficiency and the public interest.