𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A Reform UK Government would pardon veterans convicted for their roles during Northern Ireland’s Troubles, Nigel Farage has announced. The Reform leader also pledged to end current prosecutions of ex-servicemen and women at a rally today, where he launched the party’s new veterans wing.

Mr Farage said: “I promise you that a Reform Government will end all of these vexatious claims taken against our veterans from conflict after conflict. And for those who’ve been found guilty under very dubious codes of the Human Rights Act we will grant a royal pardon of mercy on their names.

“I have a feeling that raised against us, we have the metropolitan elites, raised against us, we have the human rights brigade.

“They’re raised against us, but I’ll tell you increasingly who is with us: the silent decent majority of law-abiding people in this country, they know the difference between right and wrong.”

Mr Farage said there must “never again” be a case like Dennis Hutchings, who died while on trial over a fatal shooting during the Troubles.

He said the 80-year-old former soldier was “hounded until the day he died”.

Mr Farage used the press conference to unveil a new group, Veterans for Reform, which will be led by SAS veteran Matthew Hellyer.

He attacked the Labour Government, which he said “doesn’t have a patriotic bone in its body”, adding that Britain should be “immensely proud” of its armed forces.

His comments come after Sir Keir Starmer’s MPs voted last week to remove protections giving immunity from prosecution to anyone accused of crimes during the Troubles if they provide information to a truth recovery body.

The measure was part of the previous Tory Government’s Legacy Act, which was approved in 2023.

But the High Court in Belfast ruled parts of it were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 2024.

The Conservatives began appealing the High Court decision, but Labour dropped the appeal after the 2024 General Election.

Shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said the Tories have been “defending those who defended us” for “years”.

He added: “As someone who has campaigned consistently on this issue for almost a decade, I welcome support from other parties, even belatedly.”

More than 3,500 people died during 30 years of bloodshed and bombings known as the Troubles, which began in January 1969 when the UK Government sent troops to Northern Ireland.