THE END OF VETERANS’ WITCH-HUNT
BORIS Johnson last night vowed to change the law to protect Northern Ireland veterans.
On the eve of Armistice Day, he unveiled a plan to end a legal ‘witch-hunt’ against our former soldiers and told them: ‘We will always support you.’
the Prime Minister wants to amend the Human Rights Act so that it does not apply to any incidents before it came into force in October 2000.
It would end the obligation on the authorities to investigate veterans, many now in their 60s, who served during the troubles.
A tory party briefing paper noted that ‘ rulings by British courts have led to the law being weaponised against our Armed Forces’.
It said it was illogical to apply ‘improper extensions of human rights law’ when military operations are
already covered by the Law of Armed Conflict – legal codes such as the Geneva Convention.
The Conservatives would ‘end the unfair trials of people who served their country when no new evidence has been produced and when the accusations have already been exhaustively questioned in court’.
Ahead of a trip to the Black Country today, Mr Johnson said: ‘If I’m elected on the 12th December, I want the message from my Government to our Armed Forces to be louder and clearer than ever: we salute you and we will always support you.’
In 2017 Theresa May announced plans to prevent troops being investigated in future conflicts following a campaign by the Daily Mail.
Today’s announcement is a huge victory for ex- soldiers who have faced years of uncertainty.
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said: ‘The Armed Forces has always ensured that those who break the law will be held to account – our ability to do this sets us apart from those we do battle with. There has never been a hiding place in uniform for those who cannot operate within the professional boundaries.
‘ But war and conflict is changing, and so-called “lawfare” is now a part of that. We must protect our service personnel accordingly.
‘With a Conservative majority government, the Law of Armed Conflict will be the appropriate and specific choice for military operations.’
Mr Mercer, a former Army captain, added: ‘ The Human Rights Act will be amended to specify that it doesn’t apply to issues – including any death in the Northern Ireland Troubles – that took place before the Act came into force in October 2000. This will restore the intended scope of the Act.’
The Mail has highlighted how veterans have faced repeated investigations over alleged incidents many decades earlier. And David Petraeus, a former US general, yesterday issued an extraordinary condemnation of the legal ‘witchhunt’. His comments came in a foreword to a report by the
Policy Exchange think-tank published that calls on the Government to amend the Human Rights Act.
The Act gives effect to the principles set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, such as the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial.
It is understood that under the proposed shake-up, the Government would not be obliged to force veterans to give evidence to inquests in Northern Ireland.
Former soldiers have been before as many as 70 inquests – an experience Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said they found ‘frightening’.
The change would also aim to limit the number of criminal cases troops face, although details on this are unclear. It is understood the Tories are planning to bring in further reforms to ensure criminal cases are stamped out.
They have also unveiled proposals for a tax cut for businesses by scrapping their national insurance contributions for a year for each veteran they take on.
The party has pledged to provide ‘wraparound’ childcare for military families, including breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. This would cover early starts and late finishes for working parents of children aged four to 11 in an attempt to persuade women to stay in uniform.
Veterans will also be guaranteed a job interview for any public sector role they apply for in a move to overcome obstacles to employment. Mr
Johnson said: ‘ These measures will mean more childcare support for those who are currently serving.
‘And it will mean that we harness the enormous contribution that veterans can make to our businesses and public sector organisations.’
Mr Wallace added: ‘ In the days of advanced technology and automation it is easy to forget that the most important equipment in the Armed Forces are the men and women serving. This policy demonstrates our commitment to them and is a recognition of the pressures they face.’
Jeremy Corbyn has also announced a series of reforms, pledging decent housing for the military and their families and better access to schools.
Labour says that it will consult on creating a body similar to the Police Federation to give a ‘voice’ to servicemen and women.
IT’S thanks to you the 2016 referendum ever happened. You’ve devoted yourself to the UK’s rescue from a contemptuous power-hungry bureaucracy for 25 years, and for most of that time you were derided as a crackpot.
So I give you credit not only for the single-mindedness of your purpose, but for caring, deeply and genuinely, about achieving that purpose.
Given the ridicule your long, often lonely campaign attracted, you can’t be driven solely by ego. I refuse to believe you would imperil your life’s work coming to fruition against all odds just to prevent your Brexit Party from becoming an anachronism. I think you’d like to see your party become an anachronism, and to move on to other matters, job done.
I write to you just a few weeks before a General Election cast as the most important since 1945.
I know Boris’s withdrawal treaty is not ideal. I share your concern that in the negotiation of a free trade agreement EU potentates will try to screw the UK in every possible arena.
But they’re scorpions. This is their nature. They’ll be ruthless, even if we were to negotiate from outside the bloc and leave, as you prefer, with No Deal.
You know full well that if you do as you’re threatening and run Brexit Party candidates in ‘more than 600’ constituencies, you could split the Leave vote and have that ghastly, regressive Gollum slurping ‘My precious!’ over the keys to No 10, in which case we’ll never leave the EU.
You call Boris’s deal ‘not Brexit’? Put Labour and the SNP in government and I’ll show you ‘not Brexit’. Both the agony of the past threeplus years and your quarter century of dedication will have been fought for naught, and your confederates will never forgive you. This is the legacy you covet? Being known for decades to come as the man who reversed the 2016 referendum all by himself?
If you truly care about your purpose, you have to make one more sacrifice for the team.
Resist that desire to go down fighting, still unsullied by the dirty realities of Brexit politics. Hand the baton to a man who can fulfil the quest you began. Pull back your people. Hit Labour where it hurts, but steer clear of Leave constituencies where the Tories have a chance.
Please? We’re so close. For my part, I have been pessimistic about whether the UK will have left the EU in a year’s time. Prove my pessimism misplaced. Because purity is for losers. Abridged from an article on The Spectator website. Lionel Shriver is the Orange Prize winning author of We Need To Talk About Kevin.