Hero’s Son Joins Call To Stop The SAS Betrayal

Hounding veterans and rewriting history must be stopped. Debate today in Westminster.

The son of a persecuted Army veteran ‘chased’ to his grave has backed the Daily Mail’s campaign to protect soldiers, reports Mark Nicol, the Mail’s Defence Editor (14/7/25).

Terminally ill Dennis Hutchings’ final battle was in court over a shooting in Northern Ireland 51 years ago.

Now his son, John Hutchings, 62, has joined the Mail’s bid to ensure measures to prevent the hounding of soldiers are enshrined in law.

John watched his father’s desperate legal struggle while he battled kidney disease, heart failure and fluid on the lung.

The decorated former Life Guard was undergoing dialysis four times a week before his trial in Belfast began in 2021.

Last night, told Nicol: “My father was an inspirational figure, upstanding, noble and selfless. He did not want others to endure what he did. So he would be backing the Mail’s campaign today and so do I. The guys who served their country decades ago are being kicked like political footballs. The UK must take action to protect veterans from lawfare.”

Dennis Hutchings died in Belfast in October 2021 while on trial for the 1974 attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham, 27, in County Tyrone. He was cleared of wrongdoing at the time.

The Government intends to repeal the Legacy Act, introduced by then veterans minister Johnny Mercer in 2023, which provided partial immunity from prosecutions for veterans. Today, MPs will debate the issue after more than 170,000 signed an online petition.