SAS veterans 'unjustly hounded', as 'hundreds face investigations' over service during the Troubles

Some 190 former members of the UK's elite special forces unit have told MPs of their "deep, increasing concern" about the treatment of SAS veterans.

It comes as the Labour government move to repeal a law enacted by the previous Conservative administration that aimed to protect soldiers from prosecution over past actions.

Other recent flashpoints include a coroner's ruling in February that SAS soldiers were unjustified in shooting dead four IRA men who had hijacked a lorry which had a machine gun welded onto the back.

Dozens of former SAS soldiers are thought to be under investigation for their actions, with some now in their seventies and eighties.

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The SAS Regimental Association, which represents regular and reserve units of the Special Air Service (SAS), has urged its 5,000 members to write to their MPs, an unusual step.

The letter, seen by the Times, reads: “Hundreds [of veterans] are ensnared in legacy processes, in many cases facing years of more uncertainty and stress after decades of the same."

It adds that it is "unsurprising veterans feel unjustly hounded for doing their duty” as there were “endless avenues for legal appeal and continual changes in government policy”.

The letter says that "the anger, frustration and embitterment they feel at their treatment will need to be addressed if they are to be persuaded to co-operate with duties reviews and investigations."

SAS veterans said the coroner's ruling in February had "brought matters to a head".

Northern Ireland's presiding coroner, Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, determined that the special forces soldiers did not genuinely believe the use of lethal force was necessary, and that it was both unjustified and unreasonable.

The UK government is challenging the ruling.

The four Provisional IRA members - Kevin Barry O'Donnell, 21, Sean O'Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 - were shot by the soldiers shortly after the attack which saw the terrorist fire 30 rounds of armour-piercing tracer ammunition at close range from a Soviet-made DSHK heavy machine-gun that they had mounted on the back of a lorry shortly after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station.

The special forces opened fire as the men arrived at St Patrick's Church car park in a stolen lorry they had used during the police station attack.

In his findings, Mr Justice Humphreys, also a High Court judge, stated that the use of force was not justified and that the soldiers did not hold an honest belief that it was necessary to prevent loss of life.

A UK government spokesman said: “The government recognises the dedicated service and sacrifice of members of the Armed Forces who did so much to keep people in Northern Ireland safe during the Troubles, and is committed to supporting all our veterans.

"There can be no rewriting of history.

"The approach taken by the previous government through the Legacy Act did nothing to help veterans, and it has been found by the courts to be unlawful."