Former defence minister warns against ‘endless legal jeopardy’ for SAS veterans
The 2023 Legacy Act was introduced by the previous Conservative government and offered conditional immunity for perpetrators of some Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new body
SAS veterans who served in Northern Ireland should not face “endless legal jeopardy” decades after the Troubles, a Labour former defence minister has said.
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Al Carns, a former Armed Forces minister who served for 24 years in the Royal Marines, backed a new report from the Policy Exchange think tank.
The report argues that soldiers who fought the IRA are now being judged using human-rights standards developed after the conflict took place.
It says the Labour Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill could leave older veterans facing investigations, uncertainty and potential prosecution.
Speaking in Belfast last week, Andy Burnham said the Bill would be brought back to Parliament in the autumn.
Read more: Is Andy Burnham at war with London?
The 2023 Legacy Act was introduced by the previous Conservative government and offered conditional immunity for perpetrators of some Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which would oversee investigations.
The Labour Government has since introduced a new Bill to Parliament to overhaul the Act, with MPs already voting to repeal the conditional immunity provision and scrap a bar on future legacy compensation cases as the new Bill is still being debated.
Mr Carns wrote in a foreword to the report: “No soldier should be above the law. Equally, no soldier should face endless legal jeopardy.
“Accountability is not the same as perpetual investigation. Justice is not served when the process itself becomes the punishment.
“That is why this paper matters. It gives voice to men who were there, making decisions almost impossible to recreate 40 or 50 years later.”
Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman also backed the report, arguing that any pursuit of prosecutions against veterans could damage military morale and recruitment.
He wrote: “We owe a debt of great gratitude to the veterans of the SAS who served in the long deployment in Northern Ireland.
“They served with great courage and honour in extremely dangerous and violent conditions.
“It is a breach of our military covenant that veterans are investigated and prosecuted in their old age because of an understanding of the law that did not exist when they were active.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We are immensely proud of our armed forces, and all those who served to protect life and defeat terrorism during the Troubles.
“There is no question of needless repeat investigations or of any veteran being prosecuted for having followed the rules.
“The Legacy Act offered immunity to IRA, UVF and other terrorists, responsible for the overwhelming majority of Troubles-related deaths.
“It left our veterans exposed.
“And it left over 1,000 families of murdered UK civilians and soldiers without answers.
“The Troubles Bill aims to fix that broken system, with the reformed Legacy Commission becoming the primary route for families to get the answers they are entitled to.
“There was no equivalence between the lawful service of our veterans and the sickening deliberate actions of the terrorists.
“We will make that clear in the Bill, and introduce a package of new, effective and lawful protections for our former service personnel.”