
Starmer is sacrificing our troops on the altar of human rights law
It was a glorious afternoon in central London, but the threat of vindictive 'lawfare' cast a long shadow over the old boys, their faces etched with betrayal. Now, they came together for one last battle.
In brief, the Government now claims that the Legacy Act, introduced by the Conservatives to draw a line under vexatious cases against military personnel, is 'unlawful' – incompatible with various articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal. There is no obligation for Parliament to make amends to the Act. The move to do so appears to come from the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, and his commitment to adhere to international law at any cost, no matter if the British Parliament ends up shafting our own people. (Lord Hermer probably thinks it's 'far-Right' to even suggest there is such a thing as 'our own people').
Just to add insult to so many horrific, lifelong injuries, repealing the Act would open the door to compensation for hundreds of suspected Republicans who were imprisoned, including the former Sinn Fein leader, potentially totalling many millions of taxpayer-funded pounds.
Gerry Adams, who is facing claims in the High Court that he sat on the IRA Army Council when it directed three terrorist attacks in England, was formerly represented in this case by – *checks notes* – Attorney General Lord Hermer.
Don't worry, folks, I'm sure having had the now senior legal advisor to the Crown help Gerry Adams is no biggie.
Unlike international human rights experts, British soldiers tend to be straightforward, patriotic souls: they prefer the fog of war to the bog of law. At least in war the enemy is clearly on the other side.
What side are Sir Keir Starmer, Lord Hermer and the Labour Government on? Chatting to groups of comrades from the Parachute Regiment, Royal Artillery and Fusiliers, I was left in no doubt as to what they think. The mood towards the Prime Minster and Attorney General can best be summed up in two words: Fix bayonets.
It is this latest, and perhaps worst, example of Starmer's two-tier justice that is causing so much resentment. A public petition was signed by over 175,000 people who feel strongly that those who served this country should not be treated worse than the murderers they defeated. The veterans were assembled for the debate in Westminster Hall, which that petition triggered.
'They let hundreds of IRA terrorists off, and we're being prosecuted for doing our job,' says Paul, who did 10 tours of Northern Ireland with the Parachute Regiment. 'It's a double standard. They want a fall guy, they want to put a Para inside – they're appeasing the terrorists.'
'It's revenge for Bloody Sunday,' his mate Jonno chips in. 'There have been so many investigations over the years and everyone was cleared. How many times do we have to be put through this?'
Dave, the third member of the trio, impeccable in their bemedalled blazers and berets, reckons it all dates back to Starmer's visit to Stormont shortly after his general election victory last July. 'It's political,' he says curtly. 'The Labour Party is giving Sinn Fein what they want. They're out to get a scapegoat, and they won't stop until they get someone.'
In what other profession are former junior employees held to account for their actions, threatened with imprisonment and judged according to entirely different standards almost half a century later? Not the law or politics, that's for sure.
Paul, Jonno and Dave were scared kids when they were first posted to Northern Ireland. 'We were 17, 18 years old.' It was 1981, and the IRA hunger strikes were going on. There were months of riots, shootings and bombings, and the wet-behind-the-ears recruits had to deal with the uneasy ordeal of being hated and under attack on British soil. 'You didn't sleep for six weeks – just on constant duty,' Paul recalls. He says they grabbed what rest they could in the back of a bus in Andersonstown in west Belfast. 'I slept in a garden,' Jonno grimaces.
They had a yellow card with strict rules for opening fire. 'We always had to give a warning – three warnings,' says Dave. ''Army! Stop or I'll fire!' If they were running away you couldn't engage them.'
'The terrorists didn't have any rules,' says Paul bitterly.
No, they did not. Lest we forget, the IRA murdered 700 British soldiers (319 RUC officers lost their lives), and under Tony Blair's Good Friday Agreement they were granted immunity. So-called 'letters of comfort' protected terrorists from future prosecution. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was bearable as long as there was fairness.
'If you're giving amnesty to the enemy, why wouldn't you do the same for our soldiers? It's contemptible,' says Col Nick Kitson (DSO) who served with the British Army in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and is a former 22 SAS Commander.
A decorated war hero, suave, silver fox Col Kitson was part of a formidable group of SAS veterans at Westminster on Monday. You can tell things are very grave indeed when our Special Forces break cover. They were there because they can see how European human rights law is 'making good guys the bad guys', and putting national security in peril. Others in the group included George Simm, redoubtable Geordie, former regimental sergeant major of the SAS and my new favourite human. Put it this way, when the next English civil war breaks out, I'm going to be wherever George is, cowering behind his mighty, reassuring form. I've promised I'll make the sandwiches.
Also striding across the road to the debate in Westminster Hall was Falklands War legend Aldwin Wight, commanding officer of 22 SAS from 1992 to 1994. Brigadier Wight wrote an excoriating open missive (missile, I should say) back in May, in which he took aim at a spineless establishment that is woefully ignorant of the extreme circumstances soldiers face in the line of fire. 'The trust between veterans and their former employer, the Government, is broken,' he thundered, pointing out the absurdity of a situation where 'the employer, the Government, gives funds to lawyers to take out cases against the soldiers that work for the Government.'
An equally incredulous George Simm reports that the SAS sought legal advice and was told that Northern Ireland soldiers cannot benefit from human rights legislation that assists terrorists. In practice, this keeps the lawyers' gravy train (a richly-upholstered Orient Express rather than a Standard-class puffer) chugging along.
George gave me an example of one SAS mission in Afghanistan. The objective was to extract a notorious bombmaker alive. The Regiment took pains to protect innocent people, putting themselves at greater risk, but there was 'a mad firefight in the dark, bullets zinging everywhere', and the bombmaker was killed. 'Investigators at the time found that what happened was reasonable in the context. However, years later, lawyers encouraged Afghan families to bring a prosecution, telling them they had a case under ECHR laws.'
In other words, British human rights lawyers are actively touting for business among our enemies in order to enrich themselves and to hell with our armed forces. I call that treason. It's hard to think of any other country which would engage in such a wicked act of self-harm. Still, it seemed to get a thumbs up from Lord Hermer when he praised the disgraced solicitor Phil Shiner whose claims of war crimes by British soldiers were rejected by the High Court. In March 2015, when Shiner was placed under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after a judge said that his claims of soldier wrongdoing were 'deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility', Hermer enthused at a legal event that 'Phil has caused the Government a great deal of aggravation over the last 15 years. He's brought successfully some extraordinarily important cases that have exposed systemic use of torture, for example, by the British Army in Iraq.' (Allies of Hermer have pointed out that he subsequently condemned Shiner for his reprehensible behaviour.)
With people in charge who revel in the shaming of our Army – with a few grim exceptions, one of the most honourable in the world – is it any wonder that the forces face a recruitment crisis? What parents are going to allow their son or daughter to sign up when they might face prosecution for simply doing their duty?
So far, as Justice for Veterans points out, the Government is repealing an Act which is the only thing which gives soldiers protection, leaving them with anxiety and uncertainty. The campaign group is calling for an act that protects soldiers from the legal gravy train and vexatious pursuit. And for the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) and International humanitarian law to supersede the Human Rights Act as the guiding principles for the 'rules of engagement'. Hear, hear, say the British people. The human rights of terrorists must not be allowed to hold our brave soldiers to ransom.
As David Davis MP said later in a thrillingly good speech at the debate, 'The Prime Minister dismissed it as 'political point scoring'. He is wrong; it is a matter of justice, a matter of ensuring that those who risked their lives to protect our citizens during the Troubles know that the state stands behind them… Getting this right is not just a matter of historical justice. The legal witch hunt will not end in Northern Ireland; it will cast a shadow over every future conflict.'
The soldier sitting next to me was clearly moved, but refused to cry. He turned to me and said, 'Normally, we wouldn't wear berets indoors, but we want them to know who we are.' Oh, they know who you are, and we won't let them forget you.
One last thought. As a nation, we don't have many areas of expertise, bordering on genius, left. Acting is one, the SAS is another. Internationally renowned, relied upon and trusted in a way Starmer's far-Left Government could never be, the threat to the Special Forces is now ringing alarm bells amongst our allies. I am told the US is appalled by what is happening to the SAS: Generals Mike Flynn and Stan McChrystal have both expressed their concerns.
It is outrageous that the Government is seeking to create some sort of moral equivalence between IRA killers and the SAS heroes who outwitted them, fighting with almost superhuman resourcefulness and courage. All the bombs that didn't go off, all those who might have died but who lived to tell the tale. We will never know what we owe them, but gratitude is the very least of it.
Labour has upset the farmers, the fishermen, the pensioners, the disabled, the small business people, the rich, the oil and steelworkers… Well, this time, they picked a fight with giants.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
US president Donald Trump arrives in Scotland for four-day visit
US president Donald Trump said "it's great to be in Scotland" as he landed for a four-day private Air Force One touched down at Prestwick Airport, just before 20:30, the US president was met by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray and Warren Stephens, US Ambassador to the spoke to journalists before the presidential motorcade left for his Turnberry resort, in South Ayrshire, where he is expected to play golf on about Sir Keir Starmer, who he is due to meet on Monday, he said: "I like your prime minister. He's slightly more liberal than I am - as you probably heard - but he's a good man. He got a trade deal done." Trump added: "You know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done - that's a good deal, it's a good deal for the UK."The president earlier also described Scotland's First Minister John Swinney as "a good man" and said he was looking forward to meeting has pledged to "essentially speak out for Scotland". The motorcade - which contained more than two dozen vehicles - entered Trump's Turnberry golf resort at about 21:30, flanked by Police Scotland vehicles and ambulance he arrived at the resort, the president's vehicle - known as The Beast - passed a small group of will stay at Turnberry over the weekend before heading to his second property in Aberdeenshire, where he will open a new 18-hole course at Menie."Sean Connery helped get me the permits - if it weren't for Sean Connery we wouldn't have those great courses," he said, referring to the Scottish actor he said helped him get planning permission for the courses. Trump is expected to meet Starmer and Swinney on Monday while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on X that she will meet the president on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade will travel back to the US on Tuesday and is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.A number of protests are expected to be held to coincide with the visit, including demonstrations in Edinburgh and Aberdeen on Saturday. A major security operation has been under way in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire this week, ahead of the president's of officers have also been drafted in to support Police Scotland, under mutual aid arrangements, from other UK closures and diversions have been put in place in Turnberry, while a security checkpoint outside the resort and a large fence has been erected around the course.A number of police vans have also been seen at the Menie site. Speaking to journalists at Prestwick, Trump said European countries need to "get your act together" on migration, and "stop the windmills", referring to wind said: "I say two things to Europe: Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad."You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds, and if they're stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans."Stop the windmills, and also, I mean, there's a couple of things I could say, but on immigration, you'd better get your act together or you're not going to have Europe anymore."In 2019, his company Trump International lost a long-running court battle to stop a major wind power development being built in the North Sea off Aberdeen. Trump argued that the project, which included 11 wind turbines, would spoil the view from his golf course at Menie. Trump also claimed that illegal migration was an "invasion" which was "killing Europe".He said: "Last month, we (the United States) had nobody entering our country. Nobody. Shut it down. And we took out a lot of bad people that got there with (former US president Joe) Biden."Biden was a total stiff, and what he allowed to happen.... but you're allowing it to happen to your countries, and you've got to stop this horrible invasion that's happening to Europe; many countries in Europe."Some people, some leaders, have not let it happen, and they're not getting the proper credit they should."I could name them to you right now, but I'm not going to embarrass the other ones."But stop: this immigration is killing Europe." Quizzed on the latest developments with the Epstein files and Ghislaine Maxwell's interview with the Department of Justice, Trump said he had "really nothing to say about it"."A lot of people are asking me about pardons obviously - this is no time to be talking about pardons."He said the media was "making a very big thing out of something that's not a big thing".Earlier, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told reporters the US president's visit to Scotland was in the "national interest".Speaking during a visit to the Rolls-Royce factory, near Glasgow Airport, she said: "The work that our Prime Minister Keir Starmer has done in building that relationship with President Trump has meant that we were the first country in the world to secure a trade deal."Reeves added that it had a "tangible benefit" for people in Scotland, from the Scotch whisky industry to the defence sector."Swinney said his meeting with Trump would present an opportunity to "essentially speak out for Scotland" on issues such as trade and the increase of business from the United States in first minister said he would also raise "significant international issues" including "the awfulness of the situation in Gaza".And he urged those set to protest against the president's visit to do so "peacefully and to do so within the law". Visits to Scotland by sitting US presidents are Elizabeth hosted Dwight D Eisenhower at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire in 1957. George W Bush travelled to Gleneagles in Perthshire for a G8 summit in 2005 and Joe Biden attended a climate conference in Glasgow in only other serving president to visit this century is Trump himself in 2018 when he was met by protesters including one flying a paraglider low over Turnberry, breaching the air exclusion zone around the returned in 2023, two-and-a-half years after he was defeated by Biden. Trump does have a genuine link to Gaelic-speaking mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in 1912 on the island of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides and left during the Great Depression for New York where she married property developer Fred son's return to Scotland for four days this summer comes ahead of an official state visit from 17-19 September when the president and First Lady Melania Trump will be hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle in Berkshire.

Rhyl Journal
15 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Get your act together on immigration, Trump tells Europe as he lands in Scotland
Mr Trump is in the country for a four-day visit to both of his golf clubs in Aberdeen and Ayrshire. Landing at around 8.30pm on Friday, the president was greeted by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray before speaking to reporters. Asked about illegal immigration – which successive UK governments have sought to curb – Mr Trump said: 'On immigration, you better get your act together. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore, you've got to get your act together. 'As you know, last month we had nobody entering our country – nobody, (we) shut it down.' He added: 'You've got to stop this horrible invasion that's happening to Europe.' Immigration, Mr Trump said, was 'killing Europe'. Some European leaders, he continued, 'have not let it happen' and are 'not getting the proper credit they should', though the president did not say who he was talking about. Mr Trump said: 'Many countries in Europe, some people, some leaders, have not let it happen, and they're not getting the proper credit they should.' The president also praised Sir Keir Starmer ahead of a meeting between the two at one of his courses in the coming days, describing him as a 'good man'. 'I like your Prime Minister, he's slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he's a good man. He got a trade deal done,' he said. 'You know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done – that's a good deal, it's a good deal for the UK.' The president's motorcade – which contained more than two dozen vehicles – passed a small group of protesters as he entered his Turnberry golf club. Mr Trump also suggested he would be meeting Sir Keir 'tomorrow evening', although it is understood the pair will not meet until Monday. As well as the Prime Minister, Scottish First Minister John Swinney will meet with the president, as will European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who confirmed on X she will come to Scotland on Sunday in a bid to hash out a trade deal between the US and Europe. Mr Trump told journalists there was a 'good 50/50 chance' of a deal being struck, adding that it would be the 'biggest deal of them all'. The president and Sir Keir are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month. Mr Swinney has pledged to 'essentially speak out for Scotland'. Speaking as he boarded Air Force One in the US, Mr Trump said he would be having dinner with the Prime Minister at Turnberry, before 'going to the oil capital of Europe, which is Aberdeen'. He said: 'We're going to have a good time. I think the Prime Minister and I get along very well.' Mr Trump added: 'We're going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.' He also told journalists he was 'looking forward' to meeting with the 'Scottish leader' Mr Swinney, describing him as a 'good man'. During his time in Scotland, the president is also likely to spark a number of protests, with concerns being raised about how such demonstrations are policed. Police Scotland has called in support from other forces in the UK to help bolster officer numbers, though senior officers and the organisation which represents the rank-and-file have accepted Mr Trump's visit will have an impact.


Sky News
36 minutes ago
- Sky News
'Immigration is killing Europe': Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland
Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as "a good man" but also calling illegal migration a "horrible invasion" that was "killing Europe". Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president's visit. Mr Trump told reporters: "I like your prime minister. He's slightly more liberal than I am... but he's a good man... he got a trade deal done. It's a good deal for the UK." The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month. Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as "the greatest 36 holes in golf". "There's no place like Turnberry. It's the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there," the US president said. " Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren't for Sean Connery, we wouldn't have those great courses," he added. During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US. Mr Trump told reporters there was "a good 50-50 chance" of an agreement with the EU but added there were "maybe 20 different" sticking points. EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August. The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning. "You better get your act together or you're not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together," he said. "But you're allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that's happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe," he told reporters. 1:30 He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe. "Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries," he said. "It's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds." Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration's handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. "You're making a big thing over something that's not a big thing. I'm focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are," he said. Mr Trump added that "now's not the time" to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's imprisoned accomplice. 17:35 👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 While the president's visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK. The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries. About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found. President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course. He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King - the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.