Troubles inquiry ‘hounding’ veterans
ELDERLY Army veterans are being asked to give new witness statements for a fresh wave of inquests into Northern Ireland Troubles-era killings, amid complaints they are facing a witch hunt.
Notices calling for witnesses to come forward have been sent to Army regimental associations across the country.
The Ministry of Defence has also warned that it will be writing to individual veterans that it believes were present at the time of the killings, or who may have evidence.
The new inquests are likely to see veterans in their sixties and seventies asked to give evidence into killings, some of them of suspected IRA terrorists, that have already been repeatedly investigated.
The hearings come as veterans have complained that they are already being “hounded” by a series of new police investigations into historical killings, many of them more than 40 years old.
Gen Lord Dannatt, former head of the British Army, told The Mail on Sunday: “I think this is an extremely unwelcome, worrying move. I served in Belfast in 1971 and had 25 to 35-year-old soldiers in my platoon who would now be in their 70s and 80s. Asking them to recall shootings from back then is outrageous.
“Veterans will wonder what is behind this and when this will end. After what British troops who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan have been put through following baseless claims against them of abuse, this is another episode we could well do without. I’m surprised the MOD is going along with it.”
Among the new inquests ordered has been a hearing into the killing of Joseph Parker in December 1971 in Ardoyne, Belfast. He was killed accidentally by troops from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment during the hunt for two IRA suspects.
The notice sent to regimental associations says: “Letters are being sent by the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Inquest Unit (DIU) to those who might have been witnesses and who it believes may be able to assist.
“If you receive a letter it will ask if you recall any details about an incident. It is recognised that this took place a long time ago and that receiving a letter out of the blue may well cause concern. However, any assistance you may be able to offer would be invaluable in helping to establish what happened and, critically, in providing the coroner with further information adding to that put forward by other parties involved in the inquest process.”
An estimated 300,000 British soldiers served in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007 and there were around 25,000 UK troops deployed at any one time during the Seventies and Eighties. More than 3,600 people died during The Troubles.
Veterans have complained that investigations are disproportionately focused on finding abuses by security forces, where terrorists were responsible for 90 per cent of deaths.
An MOD spokesman said: “The overwhelming majority of those who served in Northern Ireland did so with great bravery and distinction. Any member of the military affected by any form of investigation into Troubles-related incidents will rightly be supported throughout, and anyone suspected of a criminal offence will receive free MOD legal representation.”