Defence chief ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with the pursuit of Troubles veterans
THE outgoing Chief of the Defence Staff says he is “deeply uncomfortable” with the treatment of Northern Ireland veterans as he indicated his support for a statute of limitations.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, giving his valedictory speech as he retires after 44 years’ service, said the Ministry of Defence would give veterans legal support.
However, he also said he personally felt uneasy about the way in which dealing with the legacy of the Troubles could be viewed.
“I am uncomfortable with what’s happening,” he said. “It is for the Government to decide things like statute of limitations and how the law is understood and framed.”
Sir Stuart added: “I give you my word that we [will] ensure our veterans are properly supported if they are called forward for due process.” Mark Francois MP, a member of the Commons defence select committee, said he was extremely concerned.
“What a young man did in a ditch in Crossmaglen in 1971 is now going to be played over and pulled over nearly 50 years later, partly at the behest of Sinn Fein,” he said.
He asked Sir Stuart: “How can we avoid them being scapegoated?”
A former senior Army officer with many years experience in Northern Ireland told The Daily Telegraph the MOD needed to explain the wider context of the issue, so any statute of limitations for soldiers would be better understood. Talking only of an amnesty for soldiers risked being a distraction, he said, as “deliberate forgetfulness is not forgiveness”.
Sinn Fein has a vested interest in ensuring the wider context is ignored as it “keeps the spotlight on soldiers”, he said. Expecting old men to recall events of half a century ago was not a sensible way to get to the truth, he added.
Sir Stuart’s speech came on the day Leo Docherty, the Conservative MP, launched a petition to urge the Government to introduce a statute of limitations for veterans to prevent “repeat or spurious prosecutions”.
Mr Docherty highlighted the case of Major Robert Campbell who has faced repeated investigations into his actions in Iraq 15 years ago.
Mr Docherty said Armed Forces personnel needed to be confident “the Government will be right behind them when they get home, and they won’t face decades of legal pursuit through the courts”.