MP Blasts Government's 'Legal Vendetta' Against Northern Ireland Veterans

Sir David Davis condemns persecution of elderly servicemen while terrorists walk free

The Government was looking forward to a day of posturing and platitudes over Armed Forces Week. Instead, they sat looking like stunned mullets as Sir David Davis MP across the aisle highlighted their hypocrisy in waging a political and legal vendetta against veterans.

Armed Forces Week recognises the men and women who both serve and have served in His Majesty's Armed Forces — the quiet professionals who carry the weight of the nation’s security, often in silence and too often without thanks.

“We owe them and their families… a debt of gratitude that we can't ever really pay, but gratitude enough alone is not enough,” said Sir David in a House of Commons speech.

“Only a quarter of veterans really feel that their service is properly recognised. And there's a reason for that, and I'll speak plainly about it…as a call for action, a call for assistance, a call for help.

“There's a shadow that hangs over our armed forces, a political and legal vendetta targeting the veterans of Northern Ireland of Operation banner.

“These men answered their country's call at one of our country's darkest hours, without hesitation. They stood between the innocent and the terrorists, often, literally, often in the way of the bullet, and now, decades later, they are treated not as heroes, but as suspects.”

The inadequately informed Clonoe inquest was just one incident in which elderly veterans are being persecuted, he said, and there will be many more.

“We should never forget that terrorists killed 722 British soldiers during the troubles. The people who carried out those murders have effectively been exonerated by the British state,” said Sir David. “I don't blame the state for that. It was necessary at the time, but today, we witness a legal crusade against the men who risked everything in the service of peace. Now this is not justice. It's an attempt to rewrite history. It's prosecution driven by politics, not facts, while the killers walk free.

“Authorities hound the soldiers who stopped them from killing and treat those soldiers like criminals.”

The legacy act Act, which the Government wants to repeal, was designed to put an end to this travesty.

If it does so without properly replacing it with effective legislation, it will hand the initiative back to those who spent decades glorifying their murderous violence.

“If you do not replace it properly, the government must decide whose side they are on in this exercise,” said Sir David.

“Our veterans, now in their 70s, are even later deserve peace in retirement, not a knock on the door and questions about battles that they fought to defend the public half a lifetime ago, battles that were fought under orders, battles that were fought under supervision, battles that were fought under yellow card rules and battles that immediately afterwards had close judicial examination of everybody's behaviour to ensure that they had made the law in every respect, and often the military police were involved in that.

“Not one of those conditions applied to the psychopathic murderers that they were up against, not one.

“I've repeatedly asked the government to end this shameful campaign of retrospective injustice, and I'll continue to ask until I get a meaningful answer and resolution to this running sore of injustice.

Sir David said he supported the online Parliament petition — at the time 145,000 signatures, and now 154,416.

“But that is just the start. This is not just massively important to our veterans. If this rewriting of history succeeds, this weapon of lawfare can be used against soldiers in any future conflict, destroying the effectiveness of our troops in future operations” Sir David said.

This is not just about our Special Forces, he added, it's about all of the armed forces.

“There are, I think, at least 20 inquests into actions by government agencies and forces that could potentially be restarted by the government after the end of the legacy legislation,” said Sir David. “Only a minority are about special forces, most are about conventional forces or the RUC or the UDR.

“If we continue down this path, we will not only betray our past but will also jeopardise our future. This campaign of persecution sends a chilling message to the next generation, serve your country, risk your life and face prosecution in your old age. Why would any young man or woman sign up for that? The truth is many will not.”

This challenge has been most high profile when it's struck at our elite units. SAS, SBS, the SRR, the Det, as it was once known, but it applies to every rifle and every soldier, every member of the military who carries or wields a weapon in defence of the country.

“Every single one these soldiers, who operate in conditions of extreme danger and uncertainty, are required to make impossible decisions at great speed whilst under fire, the terror of being under fire, and they expect neither recognition nor reward, but they do expect one thing, the support of their government,” said Sir David.

“We expect our soldiers to put their lives on the line for our country, but why would they do that? If their country will abandon them after service? So instead, they face doubt; doubt that creeps into the field, into command, into mission planning.

“If soldiers must weigh every trigger pull against a future court case, we cripple their ability to act.

“What is the point of armed forces if we render them useless through legal ambiguity?”

The government must balance properly the rule of law as it applies to each environment Rules of warfare established in the Geneva Convention address conventional war. But, the nature of war has changed.

During their operations against al Qaeda in Iraq, the British and American military achieved spectacular results in saving lives, he said, emphasising “saving lives”.

“Vehicle borne suicide bombings fell from 100 a month to just one after we engaged. Sectarian assassinations once rife, all but ceased care of our military,” Sir David said.

“This was not the work of indiscriminate bombing or division level assaults. It was achieved through precise, controlled and surgical raids, generally by elite forces, backed by careful planning into some of the most hostile environments.

“The impact was staggering. Even a hostile Panorama programme showed that 95% of terrorist neutralisations were captures, not kills — 95% under unbelievable circumstances —and of course, thousands of innocent lives were saved.”

This is not just a matter of operational skill, but also of moral discipline.

“In the midst of close quarters combat against some of the most dangerous men on earth, our forces showed a restraint few could match,” said Sir David.

“I have no doubt that from time to time, mistakes are made, and these, of course, should be answered for, but with if we allow our opponents to use lawfare to destroy these capabilities, we are left with blunt instruments: the bomb, the missile, the drone. So instead of capturing or killing just the guilty, we kill every innocent civilian on a bus or every guest at a wedding party.

“Our military has been brilliant at doing the opposite, being targeted lawful and effective.”

Dismantling that capacity will not only be militarily reckless, but it will also be betrayal the very principles distinguish soldiers from those whom they fight.

Sir David called on the Government to do more than clap politely at a parade.

“Let's act. Let's end the relentless hounding of our veterans. Let's give our serving forces the legal protection and political support that they deserve. Let us recognise that if we find it difficult to recruit, it's a consequence of a state that too often turns its back on its defenders,” he said.

“This Armed Forces Day, let us make one promise that no British soldier will ever again be abandoned by the very nation they have so bravely protected.”