Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has warned that her party will fight Labour's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill "at every opportunity", accusing the government of putting elderly veterans back in the dock.
Writing for the Daily Express, Badenoch said the Conservatives believe that the men and women who served the country in uniform should be protected, and that she is "so determined" to defeat the legislation.
Bill would overturn 2023 protections
The Bill was introduced to Parliament by Labour on 14 October 2025, almost exactly one year before Badenoch's article was published. She said that twelve months later, Labour's "determination to fail the brave men and women who served our country is as strong as ever."
The Bill will overturn legislation introduced by the Conservatives in 2023, which sought to draw a line under the Troubles and protect veterans from the threat of vexatious legal action.
Badenoch said that for too many of these veterans, the process has become the punishment. Decades after serving their country, former soldiers face the prospect of endless investigations, legal bills, and the constant threat of prosecution hanging over their final years.
Political motivations and resignations
Badenoch claimed that Labour desperately wants closer ties with the EU, and to achieve that, they need the support of the Irish Government. She said Northern Ireland veterans have become "pawns in a cynical game of political chess," with Andy Burnham and Chris Bryant prepared to sacrifice them for a path back into Europe.
She cited former Labour Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who resigned over failures by his party to fund defence properly, but also because of this very Bill. His verdict was: "…it [the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill] remains unfit for purpose. It risks failing the very veterans it claims to protect."
Badenoch said he is "absolutely right."
Veterans' ongoing legal battles
Last month, reports emerged that one veteran, "Soldier B", faces yet another trial, despite having effectively cleared his name for a third time last year, after five years of investigations and judicial criticism of those pursuing him.
Badenoch argued that soldiers did not volunteer to become embroiled in the Troubles, but went to Northern Ireland because their country ordered them there. She said the country now has a moral duty to stand by them.
She committed: "if Labour force this legislation through, the next Conservative government will restore full legal protections for our Northern Ireland veterans."
