Witch-hunt into our Ulster soldiers ‘will last for many years’
THE witch-hunt into retired soldiers decades after they battled terrorism in Northern Ireland could go on for ‘many, many, many years’, a senior police officer admitted yesterday.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, who is responsible for the reexamination of every British Army killing during the Troubles, said no timetable had been set.
But he added that because he had only 70 detectives working for him – and his unit is ‘under-resourced and under-funded’ – the investigations could go on for years.
It emerged this week that up to 1,000 retired soldiers in their 60s and 70s face investigation some 40 years after they served in Northern Ireland.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it will re-examine every British Army killing during the Troubles. Its taxpayerfunded Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB)is to look at 238 ‘fatal incidents’ involving the Army in Ulster, leading to 302 deaths.
Veterans will be investigated as potential murder or manslaughter suspects over actions they took decades ago at the height of the IRA’s terrorist campaign.
Mr Hamilton, who heads the LIB, said the Government was moving towards a Bill proposing a new historical inquires unit that would complete its work in five years.
But he added: ‘If there is no political decision, it will take many, many, many years for the Police Service of Northern Ireland with the 70 detectives it has.
‘We have made it very clear that we are neither resourced nor funded for the scale of the legacy task we are required to carry out.’
He denied there was a witch-hunt into British troops, saying he had a ‘statuary responsibility’ to investigate all 3,200 deaths during the Troubles, including those murdered by terrorists.
His comments on BBC Radio 5 Live came as it was revealed that ministers issued a strong defence of troops in Northern Ireland just three weeks before the announcement of the investigation.
A government report, submitted to UN investigators, said the peace process would never have happened without the contribution of the Armed Forces. It added the suggestion that criminality by soldiers was ‘rife or endemic’ during the Troubles was an ‘unjustified distortion of the facts’.
And it argued that an overwhelming majority of those who served in Northern Ireland did so with ‘bravery and distinction, upholding democracy and the rule of the law’.
The submission to the UN human rights council three weeks ago said: ‘Without their commitment, the peace process would never have happened.’
But yesterday No 10 insisted that soldiers had to be investigated to preserve the peace process.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘It is important that we deal with the legacy issues if we want to really achieve reconciliation in Northern Ireland and move forward. And as part of the Stormont House Agreement there are provisions to establish the historical investigations unit.’
She claimed the investigation of Northern Ireland veterans was not the same as the hounding of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding: ‘These are very different issues, different conflicts. This is about reconciliation in Northern Ireland.’
Theresa May promised at the Tory party conference that the ‘bravest of the brave’ would no longer face witch-hunts.
Last night a former Northern Ireland and defence minister warned of a ‘disproportionate pursuit’ of Armed Forces members who were easier to target than terrorists.
South West Wiltshire MP Andrew Murrison said: ‘The Good Friday agreement has brought peace but I would be worried if the price was paid by elderly veterans when terrorists go scot-free.
‘It is plain for everyone to see that the British Armed Forces side of this peace process has had extra burdens placed upon them.’
Colonel Bob Stewart, who served in Northern Ireland, condemned the investigations as ‘appalling’.
He said: ‘Why haven’t we still actually brought to justice those people who killed 1,700 of our service personnel?’