3,000 join Downing Street march to demand an end to Ulster troops witch-hunt
THOUSANDS of Armed forces veterans marched on Downing Street yesterday demanding an end to the ‘cowardly witch-hunt’ against troops who served in Northern Ireland.
They called on Theresa May to halt fresh investigations into historical killings during the Troubles.
Up to 1,000 ex- soldiers, many in their 60s and 70s, are now potential murder or manslaughter suspects over actions at the height of the IRA’s terror campaign.
The PM was urged to act after the Police Service of Northern Ireland decision to re-examine every Army killing in the fight against Irish terrorism.
The Daily Mail has long campaigned for an end to the hounding of our troops.
yesterday about 3,000 ex- servicemen and women stood to attention in Horse Guards Parade for rallying speeches at the march organised by Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans, with protests in Glasgow and Belfast too.
The group says action is unjustly taken against soldiers while IRA members who committed atrocities get off scot-free.
Organiser Alan Barry, who served in the Grenadier Guards, said: ‘No soldier ever left barracks with the intention of committing murder. When we left barracks, we left barracks on patrol, and if we were fired at, we fired back.’
Julian Lewis, chairman of the Commons defence committee, said ‘common sense and natural justice’ demanded an end to the prosecutions and the Government should pass a statute of limitations to prevent veterans facing legal action over the killings.
Tory MP Colonel Bob Stewart lost six soldiers from his company when the Irish National Liberation Army bombed a Ballykelly disco in 1982. He told the crowd: ‘This witch-hunt is wrong, because we operated under the law – the one or two that did not were sent to prison and rightly so.
‘Our soldiers should not have to lose sleep at night because they do not receive the same immunity as those who fought against them in Northern Ireland.’
Ex-SAS sniper Robin Horsfall said: ‘We are protesting about a cowardly, idle, uncaring government who chooses to let criminals walk free but wants to hold our veterans hostage with an abuse of the British legal system.
‘This is the difference between right and wrong. We are told the Armed forces are valued but we can’t believe it, because Parliament allow this kind of evil and immoral behaviour to continue. It sends a message that violence and intimidation are the path to power.’
A letter delivered to Mrs May laid out human rights violations committed against Northern Ireland veterans.
The campaigners also laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for their fallen comrades, observing a minute’s silence. The Police Serv- ice of Northern Ireland’s taxpayerfunded Legacy Investigation Branch is re-examining 302 deaths during the Troubles. Critics are angry that, although 90 per cent of the 3,500 killings in Northern Ire- land were at the hands of terrorists, the investigation has focused on the actions of British forces.
The former soldiers’ treatment has been compared to that of John Downey, who escaped pros- ecution for the 1982 Hyde Park bombing because he was given a police guarantee of immunity.
Downey has always denied involvement and pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey in 2014.