Foster and Government ‘seek deal’ to stop veterans facing multiple probes

DUP leader Arlene Foster is willing to reach an agreement with the Government on an amnesty to prevent elderly veterans who served here being repeatedly investigated over killings during the Troubles, according to reports.

The Daily Telegraph said that Mrs Foster and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson are discussing proposals which they hope will be approved by the Attorney General.

Plans include introducing safeguards for those veterans who have been investigated and cleared from having to relive the process “over and over again”.

However, Mrs Foster has said she is “all for wrong being investigated” and that soldiers who “stepped over the line” should be investigated.

A senior DUP figure told the Daily Telegraph the pair want to introduce a “double jeopardy” rule which would prevent the historic allegations team from bringing new cases against veterans who have already been investigated.

It is understood that Mrs Foster and Mr Williamson do not want a repeat of the Iraq historic allegations inquiry, which saw a number of soldiers repeatedly investigated over the same incident.

Other plans include preventing “spurious allegations” from reaching court and a need to set out clearly why reopening an investigation is in the public interest, which would be weighed against the potential emotional distress caused to the defendant.

Mrs Foster has not commented on the issue, but she has previously said she is determined to ensure innocent veterans are not forced to relieve their experiences. The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Williamson and Mrs Foster are frustrated with Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland Secretary, claiming she is “dragging her heels” and holding up progress on the matter.

However, a source close to Mrs Bradley has denied this.

Mrs Foster’s father, who was a reservist in the RUC, was shot by the IRA in 1979.

She said: “Soldiers from throughout the UK stood beside police officers like my dad and protected us from terrorists.

“The night my dad was shot, as a child I knew I was safe when the soldiers arrived at our home in rural Co Fermanagh.

“I am all for wrong being investigated. Where soldiers stepped over the line, they should have been investigated.

“But I won’t allow people to rewrite the past and blame the soldiers for the Troubles.”

Mrs Foster cited a case of a veteran who had recently received a letter concerning an event that happened in in the 1970s. She said he had been “traumatised” at the “thought of being pulled through the (legal) system”.