logo
Fresh Labour rebellion brews over plans to scrap legal protections for Northern Ireland veterans

Fresh Labour rebellion brews over plans to scrap legal protections for Northern Ireland veterans

The Sun15-07-2025
LABOUR is facing a fresh rebellion over plans to scrap legal protections for Northern Ireland veterans — with its own veterans minister on resignation watch.
Ex-Royal Marine Alistair Carns reportedly said he cannot back moves that would reopen prosecutions of British soldiers who served during the Troubles.
2
Mr Carns, awarded the Military Cross, is said to have made his position crystal clear at a packed meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn last week.
It comes as the Government prepares to publish a bill within weeks to repeal the 2023 Legacy Act, which granted conditional immunity from prosecution to veterans and paramilitaries who co-operated with a new information recovery body.
Labour pledged in its manifesto to scrap the law, claiming it denied justice to victims' families - but critics warn any reversal could trigger a wave of historic prosecutions against British troops.
A Government source told The Times: 'There is a huge row brewing.
'Everyone has been left with the impression that this is a resignation matter.'
Hundreds of former servicemen roared into Parliament Square on motorbikes this week in protest, blasting their horns in a deafening show of anger.
A staggering 176,000 Brits have signed a petition urging the government to back off, saying it is morally wrong to drag troops through the courts decades later.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'We will always protect our veterans, and we are clear that any process must be proportionate and it must not be malicious, and we will ensure that the right safeguards are in place as we set out a way forward that fixes the issue that we inherited from the previous government.'
Violent clashes continue on second night of Ballymena disorder
2
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump tells Starmer his North Sea oil taxes 'make no sense' in new lecture for PM after president uses visit to hand out advice on beating Farage
Trump tells Starmer his North Sea oil taxes 'make no sense' in new lecture for PM after president uses visit to hand out advice on beating Farage

Daily Mail​

time2 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Trump tells Starmer his North Sea oil taxes 'make no sense' in new lecture for PM after president uses visit to hand out advice on beating Farage

Donald Trump lashed out at Keir Starmer over taxes on North Sea oil and gas today in his latest lecture to the Prime Minister about how he runs Britain. The day after pouring praise over Sir Keir as they met face-to-face in Scotland the president took to social media to complain about levies on fossil fuels, saying they are 'so high ... it makes no sense'. It came as the president, who is on a 'working holiday' in Britain, prepares to open a new golf course at his club near Aberdeen, the centre of the UK oil industry. In an impromptu doorstep spray with the PM at a course on the other side of Scotland, Trump gently praised Aberdeen as the oil capital of Europe and repeated his long opposition to wind turbines, calling them 'ugly monsters'. But posting on his Truth Social network this morning the president was more blunt, repeating his frequent past criticism of the taxes. 'North Sea Oil is a treasure chest for the United Kingdom,' he said. 'The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense. They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, ''we don't want you''. 'Incentivize the drillers, fast. A vast fortune to be made for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!' But posting on his Truth Social network this morning the president was more blunt. Mr Trump will cut the ribbon on a second 18-hole course at his resort in Menie, Aberdeenshire before he flies back to the US on Air Force One. The president has played several rounds of golf during his Scottish trip, teeing off at his other resort in Turnberry, Ayrshire, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. As they met at Turnberry for bilateral talks on trade and the situation in Gaza, Mr Trump and Sir Keir took part in what proved to be a lengthy press conference, with the president discussing a number of topics. The Republican Party leader spoke of his 'great love' for Scotland and said he wanted to see the nation 'thrive'. The PM stood up for green energy, saying: 'We believe in a mix, and obviously oil and gas will be with us for a very long time, and that'll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear (power),' he said. Trump also used the wide-ranging press conference to advise his 'not too liberal' friend to cut taxes and immigration if he wanted to beat Nigel Farage at the next election. Without any awkwardness about playing one mate off against the other the president used the hour-long televised bromantic encounter on the plane to tell the PM to cut taxes and stop 'murderers and drug dealers' from coming to Britain. While Sir Keir sat beside him, barely speaking and with an impassive look on his face, he was full of praise for the Prime Minister and the way he was running the country, despite their ideological differences, saying Sir Keir was was 'liberal ..but not too liberal' in his approach. Mr Trump added: 'I think the one that's toughest and most competent on immigration is going to win the election, but then you add… low taxes, and you add the economy. '(Sir Keir) did a great thing with the economy, because a lot of money is going to come in because of the deal that was made. But I think that, I think that immigration is now bigger than ever before.' The president had earlier told Sir Keir Britain and the rest of Europe it must stop illegal immigration to avoid 'ruin' as the two leaders met in Scotland today.

Throwing money at foreign countries does nothing to keep migrants out
Throwing money at foreign countries does nothing to keep migrants out

Telegraph

time2 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Throwing money at foreign countries does nothing to keep migrants out

Does foreign aid reduce migration? This has been a major question among academics and politicians for decades, as higher-income countries have tried to stem the flow of legal and illegal immigrants from lower-income countries. The argument runs that migrants are driven by both push and pull factors. Push factors in their countries of origin can include local insecurity or a bad economy. Pull factors in their destination countries can include flexible labour markets or state welfare. Therefore, if foreign aid can address some of these issues, potential migrants will supposedly be able to focus on achieving economic success at home rather than leaving. However, some have criticised this theory: the economic gap between high and low-income countries is so great that it is very difficult for any amount of aid to create the conditions needed to prevent people leaving. Indeed, some have referred to a so-called 'migration hump', by which they mean that low income countries which get rich enough often end up having more emigration, not less. This is because more people then have the money to afford to move to the West. We can see this with the Vietnamese, who make up one of the largest national groups crossing the Channel on small boats. Vietnam has been very economically successful over the last two decades and living standards have risen significantly. Nonetheless, life in Vietnam is still poorer than in Britain, so people have a strong incentive to leave if they can. In order to reach a level of economic success that would make leaving truly unattractive, developing countries need to more or less achieve parity with the West. In the 1950s, South Korea was poorer than many Sub-Saharan African countries. Through hard work and good leadership, they now have comparable lives to Westerners, and there are few illegal Korean immigrants as a result. However, it's unrealistic to imagine that most countries will achieve this, or that foreign aid can be primarily responsible. On the contrary, there has been widespread criticism of the foreign aid industry for getting countries hooked on charity rather than letting them do the hard work of developing themselves. Those countries which get the most aid have often been recipients for decades, and look to be so for many decades yet to come. The idea that a few million or even billion in foreign aid will reduce immigration to Britain is therefore unrealistic. Indeed, one major study by the University of Essex found that foreign aid did reduce the desire of people in the Gambia to emigrate, but that as soon as the foreign aid project ended, the Gambians involved went straight back to wanting to leave. There is neither the money nor the will for the West to prop up the economies of the developing world to a level sufficient to prevent people wanting to leave. The announcement by the Government last year that they would spend £100 million on foreign aid to reduce root causes of migration came at the same time as their plan to smash the gangs. It seems likely that this was the carrot to the law enforcement stick. With the number of those crossing the Channel on small boats continuing to rise, it is clear that both have failed. Britain cannot fix the whole world. However, we can control our own borders. This will be much more effective and cost-effective. This is controversial to some, because it will mean tackling international law, with measures such as leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. However, those who are worried should take heart that president Trump has expressed a willingness to jettison old international agreements that no longer work. There is now an appetite at the highest levels for change. There is also a strong humanitarian case for doing so. Our current porous borders allow criminal gangs to ply their trade. Every year people die taking the dangerous journey; some of them are women and children. So great has the cost of dealing with illegal immigrants become that successive governments have taken money from the foreign aid budget to pay for the hotels needed to keep legal immigrants in. Regaining control of our borders isn't just a political necessity; it's a moral one.

Donald Trump's Secret Service probes major security breach on Scotland visit after attempt to smuggle person onto plane
Donald Trump's Secret Service probes major security breach on Scotland visit after attempt to smuggle person onto plane

The Sun

time2 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Donald Trump's Secret Service probes major security breach on Scotland visit after attempt to smuggle person onto plane

A SECURITY breach on Donald Trump's Scotland visit sparked a major Secret Service probe. An investigation has been launched after an agent attempted to smuggle his wife onto a support plane accompanying the US President. 3 3 3 The agent, based in Dallas, flew his wife to Maryland, and she received the official Secret Service briefing at the hotel. She then got on the bus to the visitor lounge at US military base Joint Base Andrews. The woman was later discovered and told to leave, The Herald reports. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said: "The U.S. Secret Service is conducting a personnel investigation after an employee attempted to invite his spouse – a member of the United States Air Force – aboard a mission support flight. "The aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force, was being used by the Secret Service to transport personnel and equipment. "Prior to the overseas departure, the employee was advised by supervisors that such action was prohibited, and the spouse was subsequently prevented from taking the flight. "No Secret Service protectees were aboard and there was no impact to our overseas protective operation." Meanwhile, visitors were told to vacate Balmedie Beach in Aberdeenshire ahead of the President's trip to his neighbouring Menie Estate. Police warned roads and the park would be shut in advance as a massive security operation got underway ahead of Mr Trump's arrival. We told how a protester was arrested and given a recorded police warning on Friday for "abusive behaviour and refusing to stop" at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire where the American leader's Air Force One jet landed. Trump's security entourage deployed a highly modified golf buggy to protect the prez from fairway assassins while he played his favourite sport. The vehicle, which can sit six people, is believed to have state-of-the-art security protection - including smoke screens, electrified door handles and armoured plates.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store