MPs brace for crunch Northern Ireland legacy vote TODAY as David Davis warns ex-soldiers will be left exposed to ‘vindictive lawfare’

As published by the Daily Mail

MPs are due to hold a crunch House of Commons vote on Troubles laws today – amid claims British ex-soldiers will be left exposed to ‘vindictive lawfare’.

The Government is seeking to pass a ‘remedial order’ to repeal immunity provisions from Northern Ireland legacy legislation.

This will amend the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

It will remove measures that would have allowed perpetrators of Troubles-related crimes to be given immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operation with a truth recovery body.

The Government’s Remedial Order also seeks to remove the bar on new civil claims over Troubles cases.

Ministers are taking the action after the High Court in Belfast ruled that parts of the 2023 Act were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The previous Tory administration was in the process of appealing that decision, but the new Labour Government dropped the appeal after the 2024 general election.

Labour has now introduced its own Troubles Bill to replace the Act and end the immunity scheme in that legislation.

‘This week is the beginning of a process which will expose British soldiers, particularly the SAS, to vindictive lawfare in Northern Ireland,’ he wrote in an article for the Daily Mail, which can be read in full below.

‘Veterans face decades of investigation, repeated questioning, and public suspicion, even when there is no realistic prospect of a charge.

‘In at least one case, a veteran has already died from a heart attack under the strain. His family say the stress of a 20-year legal ordeal killed him.

‘Any such trial will be unable to understand the realities our veterans faced.

‘These were men operating under the rule of law, under sustained threat and live fire, forced to make split-second, life-or-death decisions.

‘No retrospective investigation, conducted decades later in a wholly different context, can ever hope to comprehend the circumstances under which those decisions were made.

‘The consequences are now being felt by the two million veterans across the country who rightfully feel betrayed.’

The Government has said it will introduce new protections for veterans, including protection from repeated investigations, a right to give evidence remotely, protections for health in old age, a right to seek anonymity and a protection from cold calling.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said: ‘Today, I am asking the House to endorse a remedial order to remove indefensible and legally defective provisions contained in the previous government’s Legacy Act.

‘This remedial order is essential to rebuild the trust of communities across Northern Ireland who are opposed to the idea that the terrorists who murdered their loved ones could be granted immunity from prosecution if they came forward to the commission.

‘It also restores the historic right of citizens of this country to seek redress through the courts.’