Our armed forces are the very best in the world.
Every day, they put their lives on the line to defend our country.
Ian Liles is a man who spent thirty-six years in the army, including thirteen years fighting for peace in Northern Ireland.
He is – like so many veterans – the very best in our society.
Ian is, however, so outraged at what the Labour Government is planning to do to our veterans that he took it upon himself to start a petition to protect Northern Ireland veterans who served as part of Operation Banner from prosecution.
Having secured well over the 100,000 signatures required to trigger a debate in Parliament, I was honoured to be given the task of moving the motion and opening the debate in Parliament.
Last week, dozens of veterans came to Westminster – many travelling hundreds of miles – to watch the debate and protest against the UK Labour Government’s decision to repeal the Legacy Act.
That is a decision which I believe will shame our country for decades to come.
It was the previous Conservative Government that introduced the Legacy Act. It was designed to end the shameful spectacle of veterans – often elderly – being dragged to Northern Ireland to face trial, simply for following orders.
The Legacy Act was not perfect – but it achieved the central objective of protecting our veterans who bravely served our country.
You only have to look at the heartbreaking case of Dennis Hutchings to see why it was necessary.
Dennis was an 80-year-old veteran of the Life Guards Regiment. During the pandemic in 2021, Dennis was dragged to Northern Ireland to stand trial – whilst terminally ill.
Tragically, Dennis died just three days into his trial after being hounded for many years.
Mr Hutchings was told he was cleared, and then not, before being forced to fly to Belfast to stand trial.
Any reasonable person would surely agree that this is a barbaric way to treat an elderly man who served our country in dangerous circumstances.
Soldiers serving in Northern Ireland followed the ‘yellow card’.
The yellow card contained the rules of engagement for when our soldiers could open fire – and they were approved at Cabinet level.
They were given orders by the Government of the day, and they followed those orders.
The Government’s decision to scrap the Legacy Act would have two principal effects.
Firstly, it would leave veterans who served in Northern Ireland at risk of being dragged through the courts – just like what happened to Dennis Hutchings.
Secondly, it would allow the likes of Gerry Adams to sue the Government – in other words, the British taxpayer – for potentially hundreds of millions of pounds.
There have been many examples of two-tier justice since this Labour Government came to power one year ago.
But this may be the very worst example – dragging brave veterans who served in Northern Ireland through the courts, whilst potentially paying millions to terrorists.
It is also important to put any actions by brave British soldiers in Northern Ireland into context.
Soldiers are forced to take instant, life-or-death decisions.
They are not sat behind a desk, considering the evidence, consulting with teams of other people across a global organisation.
They are doing their job, in high-pressure, dangerous environments.
Secondly – there is a clear difference when it comes to intent.
When terrorists get up in the morning, they go out with murderous intent – to use violence to attack our democracy.
Soldiers do not. They put themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe and protect our country and its citizens.
This is an issue that most MPs across all parties in the House of Commons know is not right.
The vast majority of Labour MPs cannot understand their own Government’s approach – and know they cannot go back to their constituents and tell them otherwise.
The Government’s decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act will destroy morale within the armed forces and is deeply unjust to veterans.
Those who serve are extraordinary – they go on difficult missions to keep us safe.
The Government is wrong to scrap the Legacy Act that protects them.
They protected our security, freedom, and justice in Northern Ireland.
Surely, we owe them their own freedom in return.
Labour’s decision to repeal the Legacy Act is a shameful betrayal of our veterans
