FORCES CHIEF SUPPORTS HOUNDED SOLDIERS
Sir Stuart speaks out as calls grow for halt to witch-hunt of ex-soldiers
PRESSURE for military veterans to be protected from legal witch-hunts grew yesterday as the head of the Armed Forces admitted he is “deeply uncomfortable” with their treatment.
Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Stuart Peach said his unease extended to investigations hanging over veterans from conflicts in Northern Ireland to the Middle East.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart, a 40-year RAF veteran, is the most senior serving officer to speak out in support of ex-Forces personnel facing prosecution over historic incidents.
Tory MP Mark Francois, a former Defence minister, has also vowed that he and colleagues will continue to fight for a Statue of Limitations or time limit for prosecutions. He said: “We are not prepared to let this go.”
Three former British soldiers have been charged in relation to incidents in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and hundreds more face “legacy” investigations as part of the peace process.
Yet 300 IRA terrorists were freed from prison early and about 150 suspects were given Letters of Comfort guaranteeing that they would not be prosecuted under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Meanwhile, thousands of other allegations have been made over British troops’ conduct in Iraq – many by a now-discredited firm of lawyers.
Yesterday Sir Stuart, who will shortly leave the MoD to become chairman of Nato’s Military Committee, said of a possible Statute of Limitations: “That question as posed is a political decision.
“We in the Ministry of Defence continue to support veterans with legal and other support. That is an absolutely unequivocal clear position.”
But he told a meeting of the Policy Exchange think tank: “If you ask me as Stuart Peach, as I depart as Chief of the Defence Staff, I am deeply uncomfortable about some of this as to the way in which it could be interpreted.
“I am uncomfortable with what is happening. It is for the Government to decide things like statute of limitations and how the law is understood and framed.
“As Chief of the Defence Staff all I am allowed to do within my terms and conditions is to ensure that our veterans are properly supported if they are called forward for due process.”
He added: “It is not just about one place. The way this could play out makes me discomfited as well as uncomfortable about the plight veterans might find themselves in.”
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has made it clear he wants a Statute of Limitations for British soldiers.
However, last month Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley launched a consultation in which the Government dropped a pledge to include amnesties as an option.
But over the weekend Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood, an ex-Army captain, broke ranks with his own Government to back calls for a time limit.
Soldiers facing the Northern Ireland courts include Dennis Hutchings, a former Regimental Corporal Major in the Life Guards, who is charged over an incident in 1974. Mr Hutchings,
now 77 and in ill-health, denies charges of attempted murder and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent relating to the killing of John Pat Cunningham, who was unarmed and had learning difficulties.
Cunningham, 27, was shot in the back as he ran away across fields from an Army patrol which had called on him to stop in Co Tyrone.
His family contend he ran off because he was frightened of all men wearing uniforms.
Cleared
Mr Hutchings was formally cleared of wrongdoing by a joint police and Army inquiry 44 years ago and still has an official letter confirming this.
Last week two elderly paratroopers, known only as Soldiers A and C, learned they will face trial next year for the murder of known IRA gunman Joe McCann in 1972.
A Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation at the time of the killing decided not to prosecute anyone.
Yesterday Mr Francois, now a member of the Commons Defence Select Committee, challenged Sir Stuart over the “scapegoating” of veterans to placate Sinn Fein, long seen as the political mouthpiece for the IRA.
Mr Francois said: “A number of us on the Defence Select Committee are extremely concerned about the idea that what a young man did in a ditch in Crossmaglen in 1971 is now going to be crawled over nearly 50 years later, partly at the behest of Sinn Fein.
“It’s important to remember that if it had not been for the Armed Forces in Northern Ireland there would not be any peace process.”
He backed fellow Tory MP Richard Benyon, who served in Northern Ireland with the Royal Green Jackets and next week is introducing a Private Members’ Bill for a 10-year Statute of Limitation on prosecutions.
Mr Francois said: “This Bill is not purely about Northern Ireland. It would apply to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands and so on.”
Military fitness requirements could be relaxed to attract technical experts in cyber warfare who would not need to be deployed overseas, Sir Stuart told Policy Exchange.