Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to protect British military veterans as MPs prepare to vote on removing immunity provisions from Northern Ireland legacy legislation. The government's remedial order would give judges the power to revive Troubles-related civil actions, which veteran groups say will expose former soldiers to 'hounding' through the courts.
The vote on Wednesday concerns a motion to reverse a Tory-era law that granted conditional immunity to those accused of wrongdoing during the Troubles. The government tabled the remedial order after court challenges found the original law incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons the change would fulfil legal obligations while protecting veterans from vexatious prosecutions. 'Under the last government, they passed legislation which was struck down, leaving our veterans utterly exposed. We're putting in place proper measures to protect them,' he said.
Former SAS commanders accused Labour of leaving former soldiers vulnerable to harassment by 'money-hungry law firms' in a legal cycle that could last decades. In a letter published in the Daily Telegraph, they said: 'History will not judge this prime minister on how carefully he managed legacy law. It will judge whether he had the courage to close the chapter and let the country move on.'
The original Legacy Act, which Northern Ireland parties and victims' groups called an affront to justice, scrapped about 230 civil actions. Under Labour's proposals, judges could revive these actions and lift the bar on new civil claims. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the remedial order was essential to rebuild trust and restore the right to seek redress through the courts.
The government said separate legacy legislation would incorporate six protections for former soldiers, including shielding them from repeated investigations, a right to apply for anonymity and to give evidence remotely, and to have age and infirmity taken into account. Last year, the British and Irish governments agreed a framework to overhaul the original legislation as part of a reset in relations, with Dublin dropping a pending inter-state case at the European Court of Human Rights in return.
