70 Days and Counting: Veterans Still Waiting for Justice
It has been 70 days since the Westminster Hall debate on the petition Protect Northern Ireland Veterans from Prosecutions — and the Government still hasn’t published the outcome.
Over 197,000 people have signed this petition, calling on the Government to protect veterans of Operation Banner (1969–2007) from being prosecuted for doing their duty in combatting terrorism.
Yet those who served bravely are left in limbo, their reputations and peace of mind under threat.
The debate highlighted a stark reality: veterans are increasingly being targeted through legal processes that are misapplied and retrospective. Men who served bravely, often under extreme danger, now face the trauma of having their service questioned decades later.
As Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Squadron Commander 22 SAS (1991-94), put it: “The evidence that this is all skewed and wrong is the fact that men who have been found to have no case to answer are now being hauled back over the coals.”
The sense of betrayal is palpable — not just for those under investigation, but for their colleagues and communities who feel the injustice keenly.
This persecution has broader consequences.
Families of potential recruits are understandably wary. If soldiers who served honourably can be prosecuted years later, why would any parent allow their child to join the military? Regiments that have provided opportunities and social mobility for generations are at risk, and recruitment — especially in areas traditionally supplying the armed forces — will suffer.
This delay in publishing the debate outcome only adds to the frustration and anxiety felt by veterans and their families.
The announcmetn of a framwork on Friday has only inflamed tensions.
Veterans, their families, friends, and communties deserve clarity and reassurance from the Government — delays in publishing debate outcomes are unacceptable when people’s lives, reputations, and peace of mind are at stake.
The veterans’ message is clear: this is not an attack on human rights or the rule of law.
It is a call for the law to be applied fairly, with proper understanding of military operations and the extraordinary circumstances under which these men served.
International humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and long-standing military norms already provide a rigorous legal framework to protect both soldiers and civilians.
Misapplying domestic legislation decades later undermines these principles and inflicts unnecessary harm on those who served.
The petition and the Westminster Hall debate send a strong signal: veterans must be treated with the respect and protection they deserve.
They defended our nation in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
They deserve gratitude, not prosecution.
The Government must hear this call.
No changes to legislation should allow veterans to be retroactively prosecuted for doing their duty.
This is about justice, fairness, and standing by those who stood to protect us.