Labour's plans could open the door to hundreds of criminal and civil claims against veterans (Image: Getty)
The Daily Express is calling on the Government not to betray our veterans as the Government plans threaten to leave those who served in Northern Ireland at risk of a “two-tier” justice system. Labour has vowed to replace the Legacy Act - set up by the Tories in 2023 to protect veterans from vexatious prosecutions by shutting down historical inquests and preventing new civil claims from being lodged.
Critics of the law claim it “denies justice to the families and victims of the Troubles.” But Tory MP Sir David Davis told Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn that changes would leave ex-service personnel looking over their shoulders in their later years.
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He said: “722 of our soldiers were killed by paramilitary murderers during the Troubles, not one of those deaths will be revisited.
“Because of the current circumstances, however, hundreds of brave men who served their country with honour, patriotism and integrity face a sword of Damocles hanging over them. I can think of no better example of two-tier justice.”
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Don't miss... Furious veterans pressure Labour over 'betrayal' of soldiers in Northern Ireland [LATEST]
As many as 20,000 soldiers were deployed at the height of the Troubles (Image: Getty)
A petition calling on the Government to leave the act alone has already surpassed the 100,000 signatures required for it to be debated in Parliament, as campaign groups seek to harness public support for those who risked their lives to maintain peace.
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The petition’s creator, former Brigadier Ian Liles OBE, told the Daily Express that former soldiers are being hounded over split-second decisions made half a century ago.
He said: “All these cases were investigated at the time; they had coroners’ inquests and police investigations, and there was no case to answer.
“Now, we have modern judges who probably weren’t even aware of the Troubles, making decisions and judging these men by modern standards which were not applicable at the time. It is a two-tier system which targets veterans and lets terrorists off the hook.
“The IRA were a nasty murder bunch who killed children and women, they beat people up and shot others in the legs, they were brutal then and they remain so.”
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Sir David Davis has warned that soldiers face a sword of Damocles hanging over them (Image: Getty)
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Earlier this year, a campaign group representing eight members of the IRA killed by the SAS in 1987 at Loughgall, said it had received an “unequivocal commitment” from Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that an inquest into the incident will happen, raising fresh fears that elderly veterans will once more be dragged through the courts. Speaking at the time, David Johnstone, the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner, blasted the decision, labelling it as “a deliberate strategy to blame state forces and justify the terror brought on communities”
He said: “This pursuit is imbalanced; it is not fair that there is no scrutiny on terrorists who were responsible for more than 90% of deaths in the troubles.
“Nobody should be afraid of justice. But we have a two-tier justice system that only puts veterans and security forces in the dock.
The Loughgall Campaign say they have had assurances from NI Minister Hilary Benn (Image: Getty)
Operations in Northern Ireland, known as ‘Operation Banner’, lasted from 1969-2007 and saw 300,000 British soldiers deployed to the country, with as many as 20,000 deployed in the country at the height of the troubles.
In that time, 1,441 soldiers died, with 722 deaths occurring as a result of paramilitary attacks.
Under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998, thousands of republican and loyalist terrorists were released from prison, with hundreds more subsequently being given “comfort letters” informing those on the run from authorities that they would not face prosecution.
The continued attempts by families of IRA terrorists to see soldiers prosecuted for their actions in the wake of the GFA have led to claims that veterans are victims of two-tier justice, given the protections given to terrorists.
Earlier this year, an inquest ruling declared that the SAS were not justified in opening fire and killing a gang of IRA terrorists in 1992, despite them firing on a police station with a heavy machine gun just minutes earlier.
The inquest, which was allowed to conclude due to the advance stage it had reached prior to the introduction of the Legacy Act, concluded that “the use of lethal force was not justified” despite the masked men being in possession of a flat bed truck with a Soviet heavy machine gun welded to the back of it.
The decision was labelled as a “farce” and “ridiculous” by former Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer, who said: It's really sad because it not only destroys the lives of these veterans.
"The process is a joke, it's an effort to settle scores… to rewrite the history of the Troubles and it's a hell of a lot of money for the legal participants".
"It does nothing for truth and justice."
Eight IRA men were killed in an SAS ambush at Loughgall after attacking a police station (Image: PA)
Petition founder Mr Liles has asked how masked terrorists in possession of heavy weaponry and a history of violence cannot be judged to pose a threat to life.
He said: “Judges have no idea how ferocious these people were.
“I would like to know how these judges propose somebody should politely ask a terrorist in an armoured vehicle with a soviet heavy machine gun welded onto the back who has just been shooting at a police station, how they would do that.”
Jon Trigg, a former British Army Officer and author of the book ‘Death in the Fields: The IRA and East Tyrone’, warned the Bel Tel podcast that previous attempts to peacefully arrest suspects had placed soldiers in harm’s way.
He said: “There was a famous incident where soldiers saw two men coming towards them in combat and weren’t sure who they were. One of them called out ‘hello’ even though it was an out-of-bounds area, and the men opened fire and killed one of them.
“That was a salutary, particularly to the individuals from the SAS and everybody else in the British Army, that you don’t take a chance because if you take a chance, you could end up dead.”
Petition founder Ian Liles served in the British Army for 37 years, many of those in Northern Irelan (Image: Supplied)
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge questioned the impact of veterans facing the threat of prosecution on serving soldiers, at a time when the UK is considering the feasibility of deploying troops as a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
He told the Daily Express: “What impact will this news have on the morale of those soldiers who may be sent to Ukraine for peacekeeping, when those who were peacekeeping in Northern Ireland are still being hounded today?
“This underlines why I’ve also called on the Government to derogate from the ECHR for the duration of any operation in Ukraine, so that we reduce the risk of vexatious action against our personnel, should they be deployed there.”
A Conservative source told the Daily Express that the party plans to fight Labour’s attempt to amend the act and open veterans to criminal and civil prosecution.
They said: “It is totally unacceptable and grossly unfair, not least as under Labour’s plans, Gerry Adams will be able to sue the British taxpayer for compensation!
“We are now fighting these proposals in Parliament and have already met with various Veterans groups from a number of different Regiments, particularly in terms of how we can support their plans for a public petition to highlight to this Government just how ill-thought-through their plans are.
“The knock-on effects in terms of armed forces recruitment and retention will also be considerable, as it is clear that the Government ‘doesn’t have their back’ and that human rights activism remains the priority for Starmer and Co.”
The Northern Ireland Office did not respond a request for comment but said previously: " "We recognise the dedicated service and sacrifice of members of the Armed Forces who did so much to keep people in Northern Ireland safe during the Troubles, and are committed to supporting all our veterans. There can be no rewriting of history.
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"The approach taken by the previous Government through the Legacy Act did nothing to help veterans, and it has been found by the courts to be unlawful. This includes the immunity scheme, which would have offered terrorists immunity from prosecution and which we are repealing. Many terrorists were of course convicted of crimes during the course of the Troubles.
"In advance of new legislation, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is engaging with all interested parties - including the veterans community - about how to ensure there are legacy mechanisms in place that are fair, lawful and proportionate."
Did you serve in Northern Ireland during the Troubles? Do you fear being hounded through the courts if the act is repealed? If so, please email conor.wilson@reachplc.com