Anger at Boris’s exemption plan for British army
THE Government is believed to be ‘furious’ about plans by Boris Johnson to give British army veterans a legal exemption from prosecution for crimes committed in the North and simultaneously protect paramilitaries.
The exemption is expected to be unveiled when Brandon Lewis, the Northern Secretary, will reveal proposals for a statute of limitations on prosecutions for crimes committed by combatants on both sides of the conflict.
Mr Lewis had pledged to deliver plans to the British parliament before the summer recess, which begins on July 22.
The move has sparked a mixture of angst and anger within the Government with one senior figure warning: ‘It is a complete breach of the Stormont House Agreement… another one.’
The essential ending of all trials associated with the Troubles will be presented as a move towards a South African style ‘truth and reconciliation’ approach.
Significantly the decision was made in the wake of the collapse of two trials of British paratroopers for the murders on Bloody Sunday where the passage of time meant key evidence was ruled out by a judge.
The stated objective is to focus on reconciling communities in the North rather than pursuing combatants by allowing those involved in the 30-year conflict to testify truthfully without fear of any prosecution. Concerned figures close to the ongoing Northern negotiations warned: ‘It will antagonise every branch of this complex process: it is opposed by all Northern Irish parties. It is the only thing that unites them.’
A senior figure warned: ‘Everyone will be up in arms, not least of all survivors and the families of those who died or were maimed.’
The person added: ‘We have told them time and time again, but the message does not stick.’
The issue of the prosecution of Northern veterans has caused Mr Johnson severe domestic political difficulties.
A former defence minister, John Mercer, left the government after a previous bill, he claimed, forced him to break a promise to veterans that they would not be pursued any longer in the courts.
The issue has been surrounded with emotional claims about veterans ‘being sectioned, drinking themselves to death and dying well before their time’.
A similar system of limitation already exists for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, who will not be prosecuted after more than five years.
However, one angry Irish Government figure noted: ‘The Taoiseach has already said such a move would be a complete breach of trust.’
Mr Johnson, a source warned, ‘has been at his old tricks again. Truth is a moveable object, a deal is only a negotiating position.’
The British government has also guaranteed that ‘such a move will apply to all sides; service personnel, police, loyalists and nationalists alike’.
It has also been compared to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and Sentencing Act which limited, amid huge public controversy, prison sentences arising out of the Troubles.
A resigned Government source observed: ‘Boris will do what Boris wants but this will inflict real and unnecessary distress on hurt families and individuals.’
They added: ‘Ordinary families, perhaps not a priority of Boris, will be devastated.’
‘Boris will do what Boris wants’