British military veteran groups have condemned a government attempt to remove immunity provisions from Northern Ireland legacy legislation, claiming it will expose former soldiers to “hounding” through the courts.
MPs are to vote on Wednesday on a motion to reverse a Tory-era law that granted conditional immunity to those accused of wrongdoing during the Troubles.
The government tabled what is known as a remedial order to remove the immunity clause after court challenges said it was incompatible with the European convention on human rights.
Keir Starmer told the House of Commons the change would fulfil legal obligations while protecting veterans from vexatious prosecutions. “Under the last government, they passed legislation which was struck down, leaving our veterans utterly exposed. We’re putting in place proper measures to protect them,” the prime minister said.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said her party would vote against the motion to protect veterans from “unfair prosecution”.
Former SAS commanders accused Labour of leaving former soldiers vulnerable to harassment by “money-hungry law firms” in a legal cycle that could last decades. “History will not judge this prime minister on how carefully he managed legacy law,” they said in a letter published in the Daily Telegraph. “It will judge whether he had the courage to close the chapter and let the country move on.”
The original Legacy Act – which Northern Ireland parties and victims’ groups called an affront to justice – scrapped about 230 civil actions related to the Troubles. Under Labour’s proposals, judges would have the power to revive the actions. The proposals would also lift the bar on new civil claims over Troubles cases.
Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary of state, said the remedial order was essential to rebuild the trust of communities and restored the right to seek redress through the courts.
The government said separate legacy legislation would incorporate six protections for former soldiers, including shielding them from repeated investigations, a right to apply for anonymity and to give evidence remotely, and to have age and infirmity taken into account.
Last year the British and Irish governments agreed a framework to overhaul the original legacy legislation as part of a reset in relations between Dublin and London. In return for changes to the legislation, Dublin is to drop a pending inter-state case against the UK at the European court of human rights.
