Stop punishing those who served: Britain’s veterans deserve justice, not endless legal pursuit

It is an unprecedented step for organisations that want to work with the Government to help deal with the legacy of the Troubles and who instinctively avoid drawing public attention.

They had no choice if they are to protect their members from the cynical exploitation of judicial processes by apologists for terrorists. Apologists who seek to create a false narrative and to punish veterans by embroiling them in years of highly adversarial legal proceedings.

As Hilary Benn frequently asserts, the prospect of prosecution is “vanishingly small”. Why then, subject veterans to what amounts to persecution that blights their lives and those of their families?

The mantra that the Troubles Bill will protect veterans once they become entangled in investigations and inquiries misses the point entirely.

They must be protected from becoming ensnared in the first place. They have never shied away from, or feared, accountability. They merely ask for fairness and due recognition that they were acting lawfully on behalf of the State in quelling what was at times and in the circumstances an insurrection by terrorists in NI.

The Associations will not give up on their veterans until this is achieved. This will require that: no proceedings start without new evidence; key decisions are taken outside Northern Ireland, determination of the public interest and national security must be informed by a broader United Kingdom; and effective independent oversight that has the power and the will to stop vexatious claims and the resulting mistreatment of veterans.

The Government needs to recognise that the longer they try to avoid these measures, the more the trust of veterans is eroded and the more likely the Bill is to become the latest failure of government policy to address the legacy of the Troubles.

This is not just about the past, as Generals Sir Nick Parker and Sir Peter Wall have made clear it is about whether Britain can continue to employ force decisively and lawfully in future operations.

What signal would continuing the disgraceful treatment of veterans send to those serving in the Armed Forces now and to the nation’s enemies?

The ongoing lawfare is a direct threat to national security.

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Col Paul Pearce is a retired officer who served for more than 20 years with UK Special Forces, 6 of them on Operation Banner.

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