Government will not back review of ruling that could lead to prosecution of SAS unit for IRA deaths

As published by the Telegraph

The Government has refused to commit to a judicial review of a ruling that could bring the prosecution of SAS veterans for killing four IRA terrorists.

Al Carns, the veterans minister, failed to back calls from former military leaders and the Tories to launch a judicial review into a ruling by a senior coroner.

The coroner found members of an SAS unit used unjustified lethal force when they killed four IRA terrorists in an ambush in 1992.

Mr Carns’s response to a letter from James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, emerged on Wednesday, as Sir Keir Starmer was challenged on the case in the Commons, and urged to do more to protect soldiers and veterans from prosecution.

‘Army morale at risk’
Mr Cartlidge warned that the Government’s refusal to commit to a review of the coroner’s ruling would damage Army morale.

The IRA men were gunned down in a car park minutes after they attacked a Royal Ulster Constabulary police station in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, firing 30 rounds from a Soviet-made DSHK anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the back of a stolen lorry.

Last month, Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, the coroner, rejected claims made by two of the soldiers, now in their 50s, that they held the “honest belief” they needed to use lethal force.

Military sources have said the coroner’s verdict means they expect the case to be referred to Northern Ireland prosecutors and police for criminal investigation.

The previous Tory government introduced a law last year which granted soldiers immunity from prosecution if they cooperated with a new information recovery body.

The Government is currently in the process of repealing the legislation, which Sir Keir has said did not “get the balance right” between the rights of veterans and victims.

Mr Cartlidge wrote to the Ministry of Defence after the coroner’s decision, urging the Government to seek a judicial review of the ruling, which critics say was legally flawed.

In his response to Mr Cartlidge’s letter, Mr Carns wrote: “We owe a great deal of debt to our Armed Forces – the vast majority of those who served in Operation Banner during the Troubles, did so with distinction.

“The Government is committed to ensuring that the legacy of the past is addressed sensitively, efficiently, and lawfully.

“It is important, as we seek to find an agreed way forward, that we recognise the many bereaved families of ex-service personnel who continue to seek answers about the circumstances of their loved ones’ death.”

Ministers will take time over response
Whitehall sources told The Telegraph ministers would take time to carefully consider their response to the coroner’s ruling.

The veterans involved in the case are being provided with welfare and legal support by the Government.

But Mr Cartlidge warned that the response would undermine military morale at a sensitive time.

He said: “At a time when the Government is talking about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, it is shocking that they are not going to do the right thing by our veterans by judicially reviewing the Clonoe verdict.

“Given the clear reluctance of the MoD to defend the veterans concerned, the PM should recognise the harm this could do to Army morale and personally intervene.”

Earlier, Sir David Davis, a former soldier in the Territorial Army’s 21 SAS regiment, challenged Sir Keir on the verdict at PMQs.

The former Tory minister told the Commons the judgment “was based on no evidence whatsoever”, and urged the Prime Minister to do more to protect veterans from prosecution.

‘Partisan parodies of justice’
“Soldiers who serve our country with honour, heroism and skill are being punished in their declining years for doing nothing but carrying out their patriotic duty in the face of enormous risks,” he said.

“Does he not think that he and his Government have a duty to protect those soldiers from such partisan parodies of justice in their declining years?”

Sir Keir replied that he had “not seen the details” of the Clonoe case, despite it being raised repeatedly with ministers in recent weeks.

The Prime Minister added: “On the broader point, it is right that we should protect those who serve our country, wherever they serve our country.”

Last month senior military figures including Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, wrote to The Telegraph calling for a judicial review in the Clonoe case.

The open letter, which was also signed by Ben Wallace, the former Tory defence secretary, said overturning the verdict was “vitally important in the interests of natural justice”.