Ex-Army chief criticises PM for giving key role to civil servant who invited Gerry Adams to wedding

Daily Mail​

7 days ago

A former Parachute Regiment boss has criticised the Prime Minister for appointing a civil servant who invited Gerry Adams to his wedding as his national security adviser.
Lieutenant Colonel Simon Barry lashed out over Sir Keir Starmer 's decision in a scathing letter lambasting Labour 's plan to scrap the Northern Ireland Legacy Act.
Lt Col Barry vented his frustration at the appointment of Jonathan Powell as the PM's national security adviser, who was given the job in November last year.
Mr Powell, who previously served as Tony Blair 's chief of staff from 1995 to 2007, invited former Sinn Fein leader Adams and late IRA chief Martin McGuinness to his wedding in 2007. Neither eventually attended the ceremony.
The 68-year-old is seen as one of the government's de facto diplomacy whizzes, having previously served as chief British negotiator on Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007. More recently, he has had a hand in Labour's Chagos Islands 'surrender' deal.
But writing to veterans minister Alastair Carns, Lt Col Barry - the ex-commander of the now defunct 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment - took aim at Mr Powell, and at the PM's approach to the Legacy Act, which protects UK troops from legal witch hunts.
Lashing out at the government's plan to scrap the bill, Lt Col Barry wrote: 'A previous Labour government gave comfort letters to suspected terrorists and released many others from prison, where they had been held for murder and serious crimes.
'A link to the present is Jonathan Powell, who invited [Gerry] Adams and [Martin] McGuinness to his wedding party and is now the PM's security adviser.'
The retired paratrooper said repelling the act would provide 'zero fairness' for Northern Ireland veterans - many of whom are now in their late 70s or 80s and could face being dragged into court for alleged incidents during their service.
'However, what it does - and is doing - is to enable the mass murderers to observe, while laughing at, the UK Government blundering about in a self-harming process that they themselves have created,' the veteran army officer continued.
'And in parallel they continue to rewrite history as the victorious British Army is persecuted for doing its duty.'
In his letter, Lt Col Barry accused Labour of betraying the troops who served in Northern Ireland and of reneging on its election promise to be 'on the side of veterans', which he branded as 'no longer believable'.
'The vast majority of veterans are from the working class as you well know,' he continued in his letter, which was shared by former Conservative veterans minister Johnny Mercer on X.
'They are baffled that Labour, who claims to represent the working class, are happy to throw them under a double decker bus in favour of the IRA.'
Mr Powell took over the role of national security adviser to the government from Sir Tim Barrow. Announcing his appointment last year, Sir Keir said: 'Jonathan has devoted his career to protecting the interests of the country, having served for seventeen years as a diplomat in the Foreign Office and ten years as Chief of Staff in No10, and I am delighted to appoint him to this important role.
'Together with his experience helping to negotiate the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and work on some of the world's most complex conflicts, he is uniquely qualified to advise the Government on tackling the challenges ahead and engage with counterparts across the globe to protect and advance UK interests.'
Mr Powell said he was 'honoured' to have been given the top job which he described as 'hugely important role'.
'As the Prime Minister has set out, national security is at the heart of this country's response to the many challenges we face and having an integrated response will be crucial to our success,' he added.
Last week the government was dealt a blow its plans to axe the Northern Ireland Legacy Act was delayed.
Aided by the Daily Mail's own 'Stop The SAS Betrayal campaign', almost 200,000 backed the bid to ensure soldiers are not exposed to a witch-hunt in the form of misconduct claims from the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Tory defence spokesman Mark Francois said the Government had been 'rocked' by the backlash and had postponed a Commons bid to scrap the Legacy Act.
He had expected Labour to present plans for alternative legislation before summer recess.
But after a surge of public support for the Mail's campaign and a parliamentary debate, they were seemingly put on ice last week.
The move may also be linked to a reported threat by Labour veterans minister Mr Carns to resign over the issue.
Just under 180,000 people have signed the parliamentary petition, boosted by former SAS reservist Sir David Davis, to support veterans.
The battle to preserve their legal protections – deemed unlawful by a court in Northern Ireland – is expected to resume this autumn.