MPS: end ‘witch-hunt’ of Troubles veterans

THE prosecution of Northern Ireland veterans must end, dozens of Tory MPS have demanded in a letter to the Prime Minister, as they accuse the government of “appeasing” terrorists.

In a letter to Theresa May, hand delivered by Mark Francois MP, 150 Tory MPS and peers have called for the “witch-hunt” of former servicemen to end.

The letter says a new Historical Investigations Unit would put “service and security personnel at an exceptional disadvantage”. Particular criticism is reserved for reinvestigating veterans for incidents, some decades old, that were investigated at the time.

“We have often heard the promise that the reinvestigation process will be fair, impartial, balanced and proportionate,” the letter states.

“We fully understand that no one should be above the law, but investigating only certain aspects of the past, whilst terrorists are treated differently by the judiciary, means such a careful balance can never be so.”

A Government consultation paper, Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past, was launched in May, and looks at how historic investigations could be carried out.

A government spokesman said: “The purpose of the consultation was to allow everyone a say on the proposals in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement in relation to legacy and how we best move forward.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to be heard. The Government is encouraged that so many people have responded to this important consultation.

“The Government will now consider all the views received and provide a response as soon as we can.”

A total of 16,000 people have responded to the consultation.

Earlier this month, a cross-party group of Westminster politicians, including four former Northern Ireland secretaries, urged Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to draw a line under the region’s past.

Dealing with legacy issues has been one of the sticking points between the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein through several rounds of failed talks to agree the return of power-sharing at Stormont.