Latest news with #HilaryBenn
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Fresh Labour rebellion brews over plans to scrap legal protections for Northern Ireland veterans
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
Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Veterans minister may quit if Troubles-era troops lose immunity
The veterans minister is expected to resign over government plans to repeal the law that granted Troubles-era servicemen immunity from prosecution. Alistair Carns, a former Royal Marines commando, is said to have told ministers that he cannot support any proposal that would leave veterans vulnerable to criminal proceedings. Government sources said that Carns had made his position clear at a drop-in session for Labour MPs hosted by Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, on Monday last week. Benn had invited colleagues to be briefed on the Northern Ireland Office's plans to replace the Legacy and Reconciliation Act, the 2023 law that ended dozens of civil cases and inquests examining killings during the Troubles. At its heart is a conditional amnesty for all suspects in historic cases related to violence during the conflict. Conservative MPs had long pushed for the legislation to protect former soldiers from prosecution but the act's provisions also apply to republican and loyalist paramilitaries, provided they co-operate with a new information recovery body. Labour's election manifesto pledged to repeal the law and Benn said last year that it was 'completely wrong' that it had barred victims' families from pursuing new inquests or civil action in the courts. He has promised to abolish immunity for suspects, including veterans. Carns, who was appointed to the government within days of his election to the Commons last July, is understood to have told Benn that he could not endorse new legislation, due to be published within weeks, that reopened the possibility of veterans being prosecuted. 'There is a huge row brewing,' a government source said, adding: 'Everyone has been left with the impression that this is a resignation matter.' The minister was not present when MPs debated a petition signed by 176,485 people opposed to Benn's proposals in Westminster Hall on Monday evening. Suggestions that he is hostile to any change in policy on Troubles prosecutions risk embarrassing No 10, which made much of the fact that Carns, who won a Military Cross and is among the most decorated soldiers to have sat in the Commons, joined Labour last year. Senior figures in Downing Street are increasingly nervous of the backlash to the legislation. While Carns has yet to clarify his position publicly, the government's veterans commissioners for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales signalled their opposition to any legislative change in a joint statement on Monday night. 'We stand united in our firm support of the motion to be debated in Westminster today. We are deeply concerned by the prospect of retrospective legal action being taken against veterans who were carrying out their lawful duties, often under immense pressure and threat. 'We urge the government to resist any changes to legislation that would reopen legal uncertainty for veterans of Operation Banner,' David Johnstone, James Phillips and Susie Hamilton said. 'Any proposed changes must be measured, fair and informed by the voices of veterans themselves — many of whom have already endured decades of scrutiny and hardship. 'This is not a call for immunity from the law, but for fairness under it. Veterans deserve clarity, finality and respect for their service.' They added: 'There can be no moral equivalence between those who served in uniform to uphold peace and the rule of law, and those who sought to destroy it through acts of terrorism.' During the debate, hundreds of soldiers who served during the Troubles descended on Parliament Square to protest against the plans. They warned that modern soldiers would hesitate to pull the trigger in combat if the government were to remove legal protections for troops who served in Northern Ireland. • Trauma of veteran who faced jail over SAS shooting of IRA members The former servicemen massed on motorbikes and blasted their horns while circling Parliament Square during a 'rolling thunder' demonstration. The riders have been campaigning on the subject since 2019, but said that Labour's reignition of the debate made this their most important event to date. Veterans from all three services said that the move had 'reopened old wounds' and was fuelling a recruitment crisis. They said that the move could also be dangerous for serving soldiers whose fear of being dragged through the courts later in life may prevent them from fighting. 'No one will want to the pull the trigger,' said Geoff York, 71, a former lance corporal in The Blues and Royals cavalry regiment, who served for six years in Northern Ireland. 'If they're doing this to us, they'll be doing it to those who served in Afghanistan, Iraq … In 30 or 40 years' time, when these young soldiers are our age, they'll be getting the same thing. It is already reflecting on recruitment. Recruitment is on the floor across the three services.' York said that during the Troubles, British soldiers carried a 'yellow card' detailing the rules of engagement, which instructed troops to give a person three warnings before opening fire. Any soldier involved in a shooting would be investigated by the Royal Military Police and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. 'They would say 'you were in your rights to open fire' but many years later it's come to bite us on the rear,' he said. Special forces soldiers have also criticised Labour's pledge to reopen investigations. In a joint statement shared with The Times, seven commanders of The 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, who served in the elite unit during the Troubles, said: 'We have already processed our grief within our units and with the families of our fallen comrades. 'There's nothing healthy about perpetually reopening these wounds through endless legal proceedings. The harsh reality is that these new hearings are an exercise in futility. The terrorists responsible for killing our colleagues have already been granted 'letters of comfort' — effectively immunity from prosecution. 'So while these investigations might reopen painful chapters for veterans' families, they cannot deliver any meaningful justice. The terrorists walk free while we debate the merits of investigating decades-old cases. 'Our fallen comrades would not want their deaths to be used as political leverage to keep their families and the families of their comrades who are now being hounded, trapped in an endless cycle of hearings and investigations.' Carns and the Ministry of Defence were contacted for comment.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Legacy Act: Hilary Benn accuses Conservatives of making false promises to veterans
The Northern Ireland secretary has accused the Conservatives of making "false promises" to veterans with the controversial Legacy Act, as he defended Labour's plans to replace Benn was speaking during a three-hour debate in Parliament, which saw MPs clash over legacy in the presence of some military act, which was brought in by the Conservatives, introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to incidents during the also sought to offer a conditional amnesty for people suspected of Troubles-related crimes in exchange for co-operating with a new information recovery body - that was later ruled unlawful. Labour is in the process of repealing the act, but has faced a backlash from some who say it could reopen prosecutions against military in Westminster on Monday evening, Benn said that 202 live inquiries into Troubles-related killings of members of the armed forces were brought to a stop in May 2024 and a further 23 involving veterans - as a result of the controversial legacy was responding to a petition signed by more than 170,000 people calling for Labour to safeguard "protections for veterans around prosecutions for Troubles-related incidents".Benn said hundreds of military families were still seeking answers, and that the government was "listening carefully" to veterans as well as victims and their relatives."I and the defence secretary are engaging with our veterans community and with all interested parties over future legislation, and we will ensure that there are far better protections in place," he Conservative MP and Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois described the government's plans as "two-tier justice at its worst".He said many veterans now effectively had a "sword of Damocles hanging over them again". Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson accused the government of seeking to "rewrite the history of the past", and said his party had opposed the Legacy Act for "very different reasons" than Sinn Féin."We're asking for the government to protect those who protected us," he Unionist Party (UUP) MP Robin Swann hit out at what he called "point-scoring" between Conservative and Labour MPs during the debate, adding that any party in power had a duty to "get this right to make sure those people who served aren't dragged through the courts".Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said the secretary of state needed to take veterans' concerns seriously."This government is said to be tackling legacy issues and if this government is going to tackle it, then it needs to stem it by tackling inquests and that route which is now producing potential prosecutions of some of the bravest of our citizens," he of the debate, hundreds of military veterans protested in Westminster against Labour's plans to change the say they fear it could reopen the possibility of more prosecutions against Army veterans. 'Labour fell for this' Almost 170,000 people signed a petition backed by Francois, demanding Labour not make any changes to the law that would allow Northern Ireland veterans to be prosecuted – a level which means the subject has to be debated by those at the protest were Geoff Butler and Glen Espie, who each served tours in Northern Butler said his message to the government was to "get rid" of its plans and listen to veterans."It's totally ridiculous the way this has come to a head... Labour fell for this, half the MPs in the Commons weren't born during the Troubles, what do they know about it?"Mr Espie said he attended the protest to support colleagues who he felt were at risk of being "put in court as elderly veterans"."It's not right. Successive British governments have let down the veterans community." What is the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act? The act was passed by the Conservative government in September 2023 despite opposition from Labour, all Northern Ireland parties, several victims' groups and the Irish created a new legacy body known ICRIR to take over all Troubles-era cases from 1 May 2024, including those on the desk of the Police Service of Northern act shut down all historical act's most controversial element, the offer of conditional immunity to suspects, was disapplied following legal action by bereaved court ruled this part of the act was incompatible with human rights' legislation and the Windsor July, the Labour government wrote to the Belfast courts abandoning an appeal against the striking out of the amnesty clause in the December, the secretary of state formally started the process to repeal the act, but as well as prompting a backlash from veterans who do not want to see the law repealed, he was criticised by some political parties and victims' groups for not moving quickly enough.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Benn says ‘no choice' but to repeal NI legacy act as veterans stage protest
Hilary Benn has said that 'only one soldier' has been convicted over a Troubles-related death since 1998 as he sought to justify Labour plans to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy and Reconciliation Act. The Northern Ireland secretary, speaking at a debate in Westminster Hall, argued that of the 250,000 British military veterans who had served in the country, 'the number being prosecuted for offences has been very, very small'. Benn said he recognised 'the very real fears that many veterans have' and that the government took 'those concerns very seriously' – but he said Labour had no choice but to repeal and rewrite the legislation because it had been deemed incompatible with human rights law. Citing research by the Centre for Military Justice, Benn said the law firm 'records that only one soldier has been convicted since the Good Friday agreement' – a case in which a veteran received a suspended sentence for manslaughter. Benn was responding to a general debate brought after more than 176,000 people signed a petition demanding Labour not make any changes to the law. Before it began, a couple of hundred veterans staged a noisy protest at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and in Parliament Square with the support of the Conservatives, who passed the legislation in 2023. Veterans at the protest said they believed a simple repeal of the legacy act would lead to a reopening of investigations and prosecutions against them, in a gradual process that would take several years. David Holmes, an RAF veteran who did two tours in Northern Ireland, said that 'what's being proposed would be a return to inquests, that would lead to prosecutions, vexatious prosecutions that would be long, drawn-out'. Holmes, one of the leaders of the protest, said that although 'the chances of getting a prosecution are very slim, the veteran who is under prosecution will be punished for five to seven years' while the investigation took place. Dennis Hutchings died in 2021, aged 80, before he could be put on trial for attempting to murder John Pat Cunningham, who was shot in the back and killed as he ran from an army patrol in 1974. The prosecution had been begun six years earlier, in 2015. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Mick Curtis, 76, who served with the Royal Horse Artillery in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1971, said he believed 'the rules were being changed in retrospect' and that ordinary soldiers who were given rules of engagement that permitted opening fire in certain circumstances were no longer considered to have acted legitimately. The Legacy Act halted all but the most serious investigations into Troubles-related killings by soldiers and paramilitary groups – a compromise that also meant that inquiries into the deaths of 202 soldiers and 23 veterans were among those halted last year when the law took effect. Labour said it would repeal the act because it was opposed by many victims' families and Northern Ireland's political parties, as well as having been deemed by a court to be incompatible with human rights legislation. It has not yet decided exactly what to replace it with. The shadow defence minister, Mark Francois, one of those supporting the protest, said 'we think the government are beginning to hesitate now that the anger of veterans is becoming apparent'. A repeal of the law would open up former soldiers to 're-investigation endlessly', he said.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: Spade-like hands sent up a machine-gun clatter of applause from the public seats
Thirty old soldiers, many in berets, packed the public seats in Westminster Hall, the Commons off-shoot used for petition debates. MPs were discussing the prosecution – persecution – of Northern Ireland veterans. That can of maggots has been reopened by the Labour Government, thanks not least to Attorney General Lord Hermer KC, who once represented Gerry Adams. His lordship did not attend this debate. I have not seen Westminster Hall so full or funereal. Facing the Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn was a phalanx of black suits and grim expressions. Westminster debates are seldom like this, even when they deal in matters of life and death. There again, it is not often that a government proposes to make life a legal agony for soldiers who risked everything for the late Queen. 'The punishment,' as New Forest East's Julian Lewis (Con) put it, 'is the process.' Some legalistic types argued that hardly anyone was at risk of actually being found guilty. MPs sympathetic to the veterans struggled not to shout their anger. When you are a 70-year-old retired serviceman there is torment merely in the thought of some vexatious lawyer sauntering up your garden path with a letter of filthy proceedings. A 'sordid, backstairs deal' between the Starmer government and Dublin was to blame, thought Mark Francois, shadow minister. And yet IRA killers had been handed 'On The Run letters' by Tony Blair. 'Throwing veterans to the wolves while doing Gerry Adams a favour,' said an incredulous Mr Francois. Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Con, Chingford) spoke of his late friend Robert Nairac, an army hero who was tortured and murdered by the IRA. 'Talk about injustice, that's injustice!' roared Sir Iain. Sir David Davis (Con, Goole & Pocklington) argued that soldiers did more for human rights than any damn KC. Jesse Norman (Con, Hereford) simmered at a 'fundamentally dishonest' process that would chase ex-soldiers while leaving IRA killers undisturbed. Louise Jones (Lab, NE Derbys) felt there was 'scaremongering by people who don't understand' the new law. Stuart Anderson (Con, S Shropshire), in a Herefordshire burr, asked if she was implying the SAS and others were 'naive'. It certainly sounded so. Ms Jones twisted her fingers. Paul Foster (Lab, S Ribble), who had earlier been rolling his eyes while Sir David was describing IRA atrocities, alleged 'politicisation' of the issue by Conservative MPs. Mr Foster, in brown shoes, would not take interventions. That is never a good sign. You should have the courage to defend your argument. Douglas McAllister (Lab, W Dunbartonshire) also appeared to find some speeches amusing. A Whips' nark, possibly. He sloped off after a while. Once or twice, from the public seats, spade-like hands sent up a machine-gun clatter of applause. The veterans also snorted with derision at super-ambitious Ms Jones. Mr Benn, in his reply, cut a lean, silvery-topped figure, pinching the tips of his fingers and thumbs as he made clever points. He played niceties with the subtle difference between 'illegal' and 'unlawful'. He bounced on his toes as he spoke of the need for diligent worship of 'the rule of law'. Again came the line that the number of veterans prosecuted in the past was 'very small'. It was a sort of 'we don't really mean it, honest' argument you will sometimes hear in school playgrounds. I am afraid it lacked the heft, the moral and emotional gravity that this matter needed. Of the absent Lord Hermer it can no doubt be said, easily, that he is not a man with whom to enter the jungle, or more specifically the back streets of Newry. But what about thoughtful, moderate Hilary? Surely he's OK, isn't he? Alas, Mr Benn showed himself to be an attorney's lackey, twisting on Lord Hermer's rope, a senior minister more awed by our jot-and-tittle Attorney General than he is by mightier questions of political truth and our loyalty to fighting men who know this whole thing stinketh.
