Sir Keir Starmer has said he is ‘absolutely confident’ the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will not lead to ‘vexatious prosecutions’ of former soldiers amid a threat of legal action from veterans over the planned reforms.
A commission to investigate Troubles-related killings and a separate information recovery body are due to be set up under the Government’s proposals, which had their second reading in the House of Commons this week.
But the plans could face legal action from the SAS Regimental Association, which claims the Bill lacks protections for former armed service personnel, police officers, and security service members who served in operations associated with the Troubles.
The Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him to the G20 summit in South Africa that the legislation strikes the right balance.
He said: ‘I’m absolutely confident that there will be no vexatious prosecutions, and that is because the legislation carefully sets out the balance that must be struck, and particular protections for veterans who served, in terms of the approach, the process, and the protections we have put in place for them.
‘So I am absolutely clear that we have got the right balance in the legislation, and there will not be vexatious prosecutions.’
Sir Keir’s administration aims to replace aspects of the Conservative government’s Legacy Act, which shut down all UK police investigations into Troubles-related killings in May last year.
It also included a contentious conditional offer of immunity for the perpetrators of Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a truth recovery body.
Labour’s Bill was agreed as part of a framework with the Irish Government and will put in place a reformed Legacy Commission with enhanced powers.
But the SAS Regimental Association, which represents the SAS and its veterans, argued in a letter threatening legal action that it could lead to prosecutions for former soldiers.
The veterans said the Bill as it stands now contains barely any protections for them beyond those that already exist for criminal investigations and inquests.
They said the lack of safeguards could breach veterans’ protections under Article 6 (right to a fair trial), and Article 8 (right to private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Last week, the Mail revealed there has been a dramatic drop-off in Army officers applying to join the SAS over fears of lawfare.
On Friday, as the Troubles Bill returned for a second reading and a vote by MPs, the Mail revealed eight vastly experienced Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) have resigned in the three months citing the same issue.
The Mail has campaigned passionately for protections for former soldiers while a petition for the same cause attracted 210,000 signatures.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a recently retired SAS soldier said: ‘Some of our finest servicemen and women are resigning rather than continue in a Regiment and wider organisation that is no longer permitted or able to stand by them.
‘Having been arrested and humiliated in front of my family on a number of occasions, on charges that were nothing more than rumour, I know first-hand the damage this is doing.
‘The damage being done to the morale and fibre of the UK’s Special Forces and wider Armed Forces by the proposed Troubles Bill must be understood by the public.
‘What the Government wants to put into law diminishes trust and poses a direct threat to national security. Human rights lawyers are not going to defend the public against terrorists, they are the people defending the terrorists in court.
‘As a nation we must collectively reverse this course of action and reassure our allies we can still be relied upon as their most valued partner to ‘take the shot’.
Last week, nine four-star generals wrote to the Prime Minister accusing him of undermining the Army’s effectiveness and creating a ‘national security threat’.
General Sir Nick Parker said the Northern Ireland legislation would make military personnel fearful of legal claims later in life, potentially putting their own lives at risk.
Soldiers’ trust in the legal system has been eroded following cases such as Soldier F, a former paratrooper who was subjected to what was described as a ‘show trial’ in Belfast over events on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
After five weeks in the dock, Soldier F, who is in his 70s, was cleared of all charges.
Sitting without a jury, the judge criticised evidence presented by the prosecution as not up to the required standard.
Soldier F had been accused of murdering two unarmed protesters and attempting to kill five others more than 50 years ago.
The Mail has also highlighted how as many as a hundred SAS veterans involved in operations during the Troubles face the agony of further inquests and possible criminal investigations, despite Labour’s claims they will be ‘protected’.
