Sir Peter Wall, who served as Chief of the General Staff from 2010 to 2014, has accused the government of a "betrayal" of soldiers and veterans. He warned that plans to amend legislation designed to protect those who served in Northern Ireland from vexatious prosecutions would undermine confidence, create hesitation and make future operations more difficult because troops would fear legal consequences decades later.
"Soldiers deploying on operations will realise that if you mess this up, in 30 years' time someone's going to tap you on the shoulder. And even if you don't mess it up, even if you perform heroically and professionally, someone's going to tap you on the shoulder," he told the Sunday Express.
The plans have faced staunch opposition from veterans groups and serving soldiers who fear that the removal of protections will expose them to vengeful attempts to drag elderly veterans through the courts on flimsy grounds.
Legacy Act repeal
The Conservatives introduced the Legacy Act in 2023 to draw a line under decades of investigations into the Troubles by ending most new inquests and civil claims and replacing them with a new information recovery body. Ministers argued it would stop veterans being repeatedly dragged through the courts over historic cases.
Labour is repealing the law after arguing it denied victims and families access to justice, lacked support across Northern Ireland and included an immunity scheme for those who co-operated with investigations that was ruled incompatible with human rights law.
The Labour-appointed Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone previously broke ranks with the government's position and labelled the move as a "continuation of the IRA's struggle by other means", warning that hundreds of former service personnel could be dragged through the courts in civil and criminal cases.
'The process is the punishment'
Sir Peter added that although convictions are unlikely, "the process is the punishment," with veterans forced to undergo the stress and rigmarole of court cases in old age.
"Nobody envisaged that actually the IRA, or Sinn Féin in particular, would start a lawfare, a legal campaign, to try and reset history and try and portray the IRA as the freedom fighters and the military as the oppressors."
"Some people say the prospect of conviction is incredibly low. That's missing the point. I had very senior government lawyers saying that to me, which is utter nonsense, because the punishment here is the process. We've seen countless examples of elderly veterans whose health has deteriorated after being dragged through the courts. Some have died while their cases were still being heard. Dennis Hutchings is the most well-known example, but he certainly isn't unique."
Dennis Hutchings was in his 80s when brought to trial charged with the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham in Co Tyrone in 1974.
"This isn't just a betrayal of people who served in the past. It's also a warning for the future. If governments place international law ahead of the national interest, the military is being asked to operate under a false prospectus."
Campaign to pressure MPs
Sir Peter has launched a campaign alongside former 4* General Nick Parker to urge constituents to email their MP and put pressure on them to move against the government's attempts to repeal the act.
"We want all MPs to be aware of this, but particularly Labour MPs. If they're simply whipped to follow the party line they'll be missing the key point - that they're betraying people who served the country and carried out courageous and important duties at the request of previous governments," he said.
The Shoulder to Shoulder campaign website provides members of the public with a template that can be personalised and sent to MPs in minutes. The letter template calls on politicians to back amendments that ensure "no historic case can proceed unless there is genuinely new and compelling evidence that has been independently assessed against the statutory test."
Government response
An MOD spokesperson said: "The Legacy Act 2023 offered the false promise of conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes. It was found to be incompatible with international law, thrown out twice by the courts and left veterans without any protections. In contrast, we are bringing forward a substantial package of amendments at Committee Stage to further safeguard our veterans, in addition to the vital new protections already in the Bill. There is no question of veterans being prosecuted for having followed the rules. We are engaging with veterans' organisations. The amendments we will bring forward will be robust, workable and lawful."
Former Defence Minister Al Carns referenced the plans in his resignation letter.
