I won’t allow the Ulster killings probe to become witch-hunt, vows minister
SOLDIERS who served in Northern Ireland will not face a legal ‘witch-hunt’, the Defence Secretary promised yesterday.
Sir Michael Fallon told MPs that after learning lessons from the controversial investigations into Iraq war veterans, he would not allow probes into every British Army killing during the Troubles to reach an ‘industrial scale’.
He said any probes into Northern Ireland veterans would be ‘ properly balanced’ and ‘proportionate’.
His comments came amid claims the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) – in which hundreds of soldiers have been quizzed by detectives – is ‘out of control’.
Troops continue to face multiple investigations after law firms such as Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) mounted more than 3,000 claims of wrongdoing during the Iraq war.
Giving evidence to the defence select committee inquiry into Ihat, Sir Michael said: ‘We are not going to allow Northern Ireland to develop into another Ihat.’
Last week it emerged that a unit within the Police Service of Northern Ireland was reexamining every British Army killing during the Troubles. The taxpayer-funded Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) is set to re-open 238 ‘fatal incidents’, which led to 302 deaths.
This could mean UK veterans being investigated as murder suspects over actions taken decades ago at the height of the IRA terror campaign. Sir Michael admitted that the MoD had ‘not forecast the industrial scale of the claims’ lodged against Iraq veterans.
He added: ‘I’m going to make very sure that if this process accelerates in Northern Ireland, I will be working with the Northern Ireland Secretary to ensure this process is properly balanced, that it is proportionate.’ He said investigations would also include murders committed by terrorists.
There are also up to 600 criminal cases from Afghanistan being investigated as part of a separate inquiry known as Operation North- moor. Sir Michael said: ‘I am not going to see Northmoor develop into a witch-hunt... and I am certainly not going to let the Northern Ireland process descend into a witch-hunt.’
A Government spokesman said last night: ‘The Government is wholly committed to finding a lawful, fair, balanced and proportionate way forward for legacy issues in Northern Ireland.
‘Without new bodies to address the legacy of the past, murders by terrorists won’t be investigated, soldiers and police officers will continue to be dragged through the courts under existing processes and victims, including families of brave serviceman killed, are less likely to see justice. The Government must offer any and all support and protection for UK forces allowed under the law.’