𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

SAS veterans have warned the Government it is heading for a legal battle if it fails to protect those who battled terrorists in Northern Ireland. Solicitors representing the Special Air Service Regimental Association have told Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn that its plans are “manifestly deficient” when it comes to protecting those who were on the frontline during the decades of IRA terrorism known as the Troubles.

Labour is under attack for its plans to replace the Conservatives’ Legacy Act which stopped inquests and civil actions and allowed suspects who gave evidence about events during the years of terror to gain conditional immunity. The new plan agreed with the Republic of Ireland’s Government, would create a Legacy Commission to investigate killings and there are fears veterans will face a new wave of prosecutions.

Solicitors representing those who served in the SAS say the Government’s Bill is “fundamentally flawed” and makes no attempt to “distinguish between veterans and terrorists”. They warn that terrorists “will have rights to demand that inquiries and investigations take place”.

The lawyers plan to make detailed submissions to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights. They say the Government’s failure to provide “sufficient safeguards” constitutes a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Sir Keir Starmer was warned that “national honour” was at stake during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Former Brexit Secretary Sir David Davis, an ex-special forces reservist, told Sir Keir: “The Prime Minister knows that last week nine four-star generals made plain that [the] Northern Ireland Bill is doing harm to the British Army already. The most acute damage is being felt by the Special Air Service; it is already affecting their recruitment, their retention, their morale, and operational effectiveness.

“As a result, lawyers acting for the SAS regimental association have sent a letter before action to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I know of no precedent for this in the entire history of the British Army and it is because it is so important. It reflects how important it is.

“Can I make a plea to the Prime Minister? Will he involve himself personally to make sure that 60, 70, 80-year-old soldiers who have carried out actions which most of us would view as heroic are not persecuted in there coming years? Because now it is not a matter of national security but of national honour.”

The Prime Minister said he wanted to reassure Sir David on the “protections that he seeks for veterans because it is a very important issue and he has continually and rightly raised it”.

He added: “There will be protection from repeat investigations so the Commission doesn’t go over old ground without compelling reasons. There will be protection from cold calling and protection in old age so that elderly veterans are respected.

“And those who do contribute to the Legacy process will have a right to anonymity, a right to stay at home, to give evidence remotely, and a right to be heard through the Commission. That is the work that we are doing and I am happy to discuss it further with him.”