Troubles prosecutions to be banned in law
New legislation could ban the prosecution of ex-soldiers who served in Northern Ireland
Ministers are to introduce a ban on prosecutions of Northern Ireland veterans in the Queen’s Speech next week. The Government is finalising plans to block trials linked to the Troubles and instead move towards an approach that echoes the “truth and reconciliation” model used in postapartheid South Africa. It follows the collapse earlier this week of the trial of two former paratroopers who were accused of shooting dead an IRA commander in 1972.
MINISTERS are set to introduce a ban on prosecutions of Northern Ireland veterans under new legislation to be announced in the Queen’s Speech next week, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The Government is finalising plans to block trials linked to the Troubles and, instead, move towards an approach that echoes the “truth and reconciliation” model used in post-apartheid South Africa.
It will place an emphasis on reconciling divided communities in Northern
Ireland, while also renewing efforts to retrieve and recover information about fatalities in a bid to offer a sense of closure to the families of victims.
Ministers believe that prosecutions linked to the Troubles are increasingly unlikely to result in convictions, because any evidence is likely to be inadmissible due to the passage of time.
On Tuesday, the murder trial of two ex-paratroopers accused of shooting Joe Mccann, an IRA commander responsible for the deaths of 15 British soldiers, collapsed after just six days.
A judge in Belfast ruled as inadmissible statements the soldiers – known only as Soldier A and Soldier C – had been compelled to give to a superior officer in the hours after the shooting.
The forthcoming Bill on Northern Ireland legacy issues is expected to introduce a statutory bar on prosecutions related to the Troubles. It will apply across the board in the region – covering former IRA members as well veterans of the Armed Forces.
It is distinguished from an amnesty, which involves the Government formally pardoning people. Nor will it apply retrospectively; previous convictions will still stand. An exemption will be carved out for gross human rights violations, such as torture or war crimes, it is understood.
The mechanism will be significantly tougher than that brought forward to protect current and former personnel related to their service abroad, which was set out in the Overseas Operations Act that became law last month.
That legislation, led by the Ministry of Defence, set out a statutory presumption against prosecution once five years has lapsed after an alleged crime committed by a member of personnel on active duty abroad.
It is understood that the precise details of the Northern Ireland legacy Bill, which is being led by the Northern Ireland Office, are still being finalised and only a faint outline may be offered at the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday.
Johnny Mercer, who was sacked as Veterans’ Affairs minister before he could resign in principle over Soldier A and Soldier C being taken to court, has highlighted that the past two Queen’s Speeches have contained lines promising to take action to protect veterans of Northern Ireland – but the Government has so far failed to deliver.
He is leading a protest against the ongoing prosecutions with a march on Westminster planned for this Saturday. More than 20,000 people have currently signed up to attend. A Whitehall source told The Telegraph last night: “We have been working extremely hard to deliver on our manifesto commitments in relation to addressing the legacy of the Troubles – for both victims and veterans. Our engagement on our proposals is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, up to a dozen Army veterans face a fresh murder investigation into the deaths of civilians in Belfast’s “Bloody Sunday” 50 years ago.
An inquest next week into the Ballymurphy massacre is expected to conclude that 10 people fatally wounded over three days of violence in August 1971 were unlawfully killed.
The coroner Mrs Justice Keegan will then refer her findings to Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service which will consider whether to bring charges against ex-paratroopers, all of them now in their 70s and 80s.