Soldiers ‘hit a brick wall’ in campaign for justice

FORMER BRITISH soldiers say they have “hit a brick wall” in their efforts to seek justice for IRA attacks on them during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland said he has no powers to pursue a complaint against the police service for failing to probe terror attacks on army personnel in the region during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s.

Veterans were told by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in February it does not have the resources to re-examine all crimes that occurred during the Troubles.

The veterans lodged a complaint with the police watchdog, an independent body that handles grievances about the conduct of PSNI officers. However, the Police Ombudsman has now advised the ex-soldiers that the complaint is out of his remit as it refers to an operational decision taken by the PSNI.

Furious veterans have said they have been “abandoned” and treated as “second-class citizens”. They also hit out at the police investigation into the actions of soldiers on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry and the prosecution of veteran Dennis Hutchings for the attempted murder of a man who was shot dead by an army patrol in 1974.

“The PSNI and prosecution service appear to have enough resources to pursue veterans in relation to the Saville Inquiry (into Bloody Sunday) and also Dennis Hutchings’ case. It would appear yet again that we are being treated as second-class citizens by the Northern Ireland Government,” said former soldier Mike Harmson, a member of the Veterans Party lobby group. “The lack of police resources is not our fault and the PSNI should treat us the same as other victims of The Troubles. We have been abandoned.”

Mr Harmson is now planning legal action against the PSNI for failing to probe the attacks. In February the PSNI told veterans there were not enough resources to investigate terror attacks against them.