DUP denies blocking Troubles amnesty
Party claims it has ‘always stood with those who defended Britain against terrorism’
The DUP has urged Theresa May to protect veterans who served in Northern Ireland from prosecution as it denied putting pressure on her to exclude them from an amnesty. The Sunday Telegraph disclosed yesterday that Mrs May had intervened to prevent a statute of limitations applying to military personnel who had served during the Troubles, even though an amnesty was being proposed for those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
THE DUP has urged Theresa May to protect veterans of the Northern Ireland conflict from murder prosecutions as it denied putting pressure on her to exclude them from an amnesty.
The party insisted it had “always stood with those who defended this country against terrorism” amid a growing row over who was to blame for the omission. The Sunday Telegraph disclosed yesterday that the Prime Minister had personally intervened to prevent a statute of limitations applying to military personnel who had served during the Troubles, even though an amnesty was being proposed for those who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
General Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, suggested Mrs May was probably led by “politics rather than justice” because, he said, the DUP had opposed an amnesty on the grounds that it would also be extended to terrorists.
The DUP hit back by publishing a letter sent to Mrs May last October and signed by all of its MPS which supported a statute of limitations for the Armed Forces.
Yesterday the DUP tweeted: “We stand with our veterans. So should the MOD [Ministry of Defence].”
Sources suggested Mrs May had made the decision to exclude British soldiers from the amnesty – which protects soldiers from being pursued over deaths that happened more than a decade ago – because she was afraid power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland would otherwise be doomed.
One Whitehall source said: “At the time this decision was made there was a lot of effort going into getting the power-sharing talks back on track. One of the considerations that had to be taken into account was the danger that Sinn Fein would walk away if they thought soldiers were being given preferential treatment in investigations into deaths during the Troubles.”
Last week John Penrose, a Northern Ireland minister, said any statute of limitations relating to deaths during the Troubles “according to human rights law would have to apply to all sides of the conflict”.
The treatment of Northern Ireland veterans has opened up a rift in the Cabinet. Penny Mordaunt, the Defence Secretary, has expressed a desire for the amnesty to apply to all military personnel, contradicting the policy of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). A private letter sent on the Prime Minister’s behalf in March last year to the NIO and MOD stated that veterans should be offered “equal, rather than preferential, treatment relative to other groups or individuals” affected by a consultation over the amnesty.
Ministers have not yet published a decision over possible new laws to protect Northern Ireland veterans.
In the previously unpublished letter to Mrs May dated Oct 31, 2018, the DUP states: “We believe there is growing support in Parliament for such legal protection to be provided to the courageous men and women who placed themselves in harm’s way to protect all of us. The status quo in Northern Ireland whereby the spotlight is placed on the Armed Forces and police, with veterans arrested in their own homes whilst the terrorists are ignored is unacceptable and most certainly places those veterans at a disadvantage because of their service to this country, whether in Northern Ireland, Iraq or Afghanistan.”
A DUP source said yesterday: “People are blaming the DUP for the Prime Minister’s decision. We decided to publish the letter to make clear our position on this. We take the view that Northern Ireland should be included in any proposals to provide greater legal protections for our Armed Forces.”