Veteran’s ‘suicide’ after quiz by police

A sCoTs Army veteran being investigated over his actions in northern Ireland has killed himself after being questioned by police.

His death came as four elderly veterans were interviewed over deaths during the Troubles, and increases the pressure on ministers to end the ‘witch-hunt’ of former soldiers.

Eddie ‘spud’ Murphy, pictured, of 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers, was injured in an IRA bomb blast during his tour of Ulster.

The 50-year-old father of three, originally from Inverness, was found dead by his wife last Thursday. Veterans said he was being investigated by police in northern Ireland. They said the threat of prosecution had left him ‘stressed’.

Mr Murphy’s friends said the legal witch-hunt had to stop, as veterans said their comrades were ‘cracking up under the pressure’. The Mail can reveal that four men in their 60s and 70s have been interviewed under caution in recent days. The four, who served in the undercover Military Reaction Force in the 1970s, were quizzed over claims of collusion with paramilitary groups.

It comes after Boris Johnson signed off on a new £350million historical legacy unit to reinvestigate all deaths during the Troubles.

He has said he will protect troops from ‘unfair prosecution’ but it is still unclear how. Experts say the new unit could run for more than a decade, resulting in hundreds of veterans waiting years for a knock on the door.

Andrew sayers, who served in Ulster in the 1970s, said of Mr Murphy: ‘This is the first case I know of where you can attribute legal action of being a cause of depression and suicide.’

Mr Murphy, of Dorking, surrey, had tried to kill himself three times before last week, friends said. The allegation against him is not known.

Comment – Page 16