Britain will face a greater security risk if new legacy legislation leads to SAS veterans being pursued legally decades after conflicts end, according to a former member of the regiment. Robert Craft, 68, who served ten years in the Parachute Regiment and 14 years in the SAS, warned that recruitment has suffered due to Northern Ireland legacy cases, leading to dangerous undermanning.
Craft, formerly of SAS B Squadron, said that SAS numbers have fallen significantly because of eroded retention and a lack of recruits from regular forces. He told the Daily Mirror that at a time of ongoing war risks and the threat from Russia, pressure on the SAS could put the UK in peril. “If I was a young paratrooper again I would do selection for the SAS but I might not have stayed in as long if I saw what was happening,” he said.
Veterans in their late 60s and 70s who served in Northern Ireland are facing investigations related to their time served. The SAS Association may take the government to court over the new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which they argue does not offer sufficient protections. The bill would see a Northern Ireland unit examine Troubles cases, potentially leading to more prosecutions.
An internal SAS Association memo stated that veterans are “being put through the wringer with no end in sight,” noting that the IRA received early release and “letters of comfort” while former security force members are 54 times more likely to be investigated than terrorists. The SAS wants an advisory panel including veterans like Craft, who said the regiment has no voice in the matter.
Craft added that many of his former colleagues face investigations years after leaving the Armed Forces, with some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. “They need a voice,” he said, emphasising that the current legacy legislation does not support the reality of SAS operations in the 1980s and 1990s.
