Special Forces troops who served in Northern Ireland have welcomed a delay to Labour’s controversial Troubles Bill after ‘substantial amendments’ were announced to protect veterans.
In a written ministerial statement, Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn said that after consultations with various groups, ‘it has been clear… that we must do more through the legislation to safeguard our veterans community.’
He added that a ‘substantial package of amendments’ were being designed to ‘improve the process for victims and families, further safeguard our Operation Banner [Northern Ireland] veterans and ensure oversight of their protections.’
He said the Bill, which has now been delayed until the next parliamentary session to allow for further ‘scrutiny’, will ‘clearly differentiate between the role played during the Troubles by our brave security forces and the actions of paramilitary terrorists.’
Labour announced its plan to replace the Conservative Government’s Legacy Act, which effectively banned all Troubles-era prosecutions, inquests and civil cases, last year.
The Tory legislation was designed to protect veterans who served during the Troubles but also offered a de facto immunity to IRA and Loyalist killers.
Labour’s plan, which was struck with the Irish government, includes a new legacy commission to investigate Troubles-related killings and a separate information recovery body.
It also offered six protections for veterans including being able to give evidence remotely and not being re-investigated unless there were ‘compelling reasons.’
The aftermath of the SAS mission targeting eight IRA men intent on attacking a police station in Loughgall, County Armagh, in 1988
Hilary Benn announced on Wednesday that the Government is making amendments to its controversial Troubles Bill
But it has also paved the way for inquests to resume which could lead to further prosecutions of soldiers, such as an inquiry into the 1987 IRA attack on a police station in Loughgall, County Armagh.
An eight-man IRA unit armed with assault rifles and a 400lb bomb targeted a Royal Ulster Constabulary [RUC] base in the village but they were killed by elite undercover SAS soldiers.
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The SAS men now face being made to answer questions in court about the operation.
One told the Daily Mail last year: ‘They’re hanging soldiers out to dry, traumatising veterans and damaging operations today because younger troops fear they will be treated the same if they open fire.’
Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone said new inquests into Troubles killings ‘can be used to rewrite the narrative in favour of terrorists.’
In a joint statement responding to the Government’s latest Troubles legacy proposals, associations representing the SAS, Special Boat Service [SBS] and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment [SSR] said they ‘welcome the decision to delay the committee stage of the Troubles Bill to give sufficient time for scrutiny.’
The statement added: ‘Despite repeated assurances from Hilary Benn, we must emphasise that the Government’s current much vaunted ‘protections’ do not actually safeguard veterans sufficiently.’
They said the amendments must prevent ‘vexatious’ proceedings, adding: ‘We don’t seek immunity, we simply seek fairness.
‘The egregious mistreatment of veterans and the ongoing infringement of their rights has to end.’
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the delay ‘displays no thought or empathy for families, but rather is designed to placate the British military lobby and the interests of security and intelligence agencies.’
Shortly after the ministerial statement was released yesterday, Mr Benn faced questions from the joint human rights select committee.
He told members of the House of Commons and House of Lords that there was ‘no such thing’ as vexatious prosecutions in Northern Ireland or ‘politically-motivated prosecutions.’
He also dismissed a call to rescind so-called ‘letters of comfort’ issued under the Blair government to on-the-run terrorists telling them that they were not at risk of prosecution if they returned to Northern Ireland.
The scheme emerged in the collapse of the 2014 criminal trial of IRA man John Downey, who was accused of involvement in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing. Downey produced the letter and the judge ruled his arrest had been an abuse of process.
Mr Benn said the letters ‘did not offer anybody immunity from prosecution’, saying this was a ‘really important point.’
