This isn’t how to achieve reconciliation

The Government’s latest plan to draw a line under the Troubles will raise, not lower, the temperature

That the trial of Soldiers A and C collapsed on Tuesday should have come as no surprise to anyone who had followed this case closely. The soldiers’ statements in 1972 were not under caution, and therefore inadmissible as evidence. The record of their interviews with the Historical Enquiries Team in 2010 was equally inadmissible. The cynics in the veteran community saw such interviews as “fishing trips”, looking to catch out the aged and unwary veteran soldier.

But the Government’s reported response to the collapse of the trial appears to be as unwise as was the decision to prosecute Soldiers A and C in the first place. The outrage of the veteran community at the treatment of two of their members has now been matched only by the outrage of nationalist community leaders at the apparent prospect of a de facto amnesty and the establishment of a “truth and reconciliation” process.

However difficult this Government believes this situation to be, it cannot be ducked further. Promises have been made to the veteran community of fair treatment, but the necessary legislation has not yet been forthcoming. The recent Overseas Operations Bill, now awaiting Royal Assent, ducked the issue of establishing a duty of care standard for soldiers operating overseas and, as things stand, Northern Ireland veterans are in a no better place.

So, what is to be done? Helpful discussions have gone on with the Government – in particular, with former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox – about developing a policy to enable interviews to take place with veterans but with the presumption not to prosecute. The purpose of those interviews would be solely to establish the facts of what happened on a given date at a given place in order to give the family of someone who had lost their life some closure.

In my view, a face-to-face interview with a veteran should only take place if research of the relevant records left a question genuinely unanswered. Moreover, it should be remembered that it was only the Army that kept detailed records of events. Search in vain for similar patrol or incident reports in the non-existent records of the IRA, the UDA or the UVF. This underlines that the investigation process starts from a completely unlevel playing field and is fundamentally unfair.

Introducing a policy of interview with a presumption not to prosecute must, of course, be subject to a number of caveats. The first is to assert once again that no one is above the law. Thus, if new and compelling evidence were to come to light about a given incident, then there may be a case to consider a prosecution. However, secondly, that decision should only be taken at the most senior level in the criminal justice system.

Such a policy would negate the need for a general amnesty or an unqualified statute of limitations. Both of these ideas are deeply inflammatory to both the nationalist and loyalist communities in Northern Ireland and therefore not worth pursuing if our goal – as it surely must be – is to seek to draw a line under decades of hostility.

The other idea being considered again is the institution of some form of “truth and reconciliation” process similar to that established in South Africa. This is not a new idea and was examined a number of years ago by the former Archbishop of Armagh, Lord Eames. In theory it sounds commendable but in the context of Northern Ireland it is not practical unless it is developed in the most general sense of trying to bring about reconciliation through community integration. The education system is the critical place to start that process. Simply bringing together soldiers, terrorists or civilians who may or may not have fired a weapon at one another or other people is a recipe for further acrimony, not the basis for reconciliation.

If this Government really wants to make progress on the veterans’ issue arising from the Troubles, then a short Bill to introduce interviews with a presumption not to prosecute is a simple and fair way to proceed. Old soldiers of my generation are watching the Prime Minister very carefully.