Starmer hides as veterans suffer

More at stake than your men’s welfare’: ex-SAS boss says London has ‘forgotten its priorities’ in Troubles Bill row

A former commander of the SAS has accused London of putting political calculations ahead of the welfare of soldiers who fought in Northern Ireland – and warned that Britain’s closest allies are “astonished” by the Government’s treatment of veterans.

On GB News, following the SAS Regimental Association’s threat to sue over the Troubles Bill, Colonel Richard Williams said the legislation would “pour fuel on the embers” of conflict and turn veterans into “sacrifices on a bonfire of persecution”.

His comments build on those of former SAS warrant officer Dr Bob Parr, who has already branded the bill “a pressing national security concern” and accused the Prime Minister of refusing to engage with those who served.

US special forces ‘can’t understand what’s happening’

Speaking from the United States, Williams said the row over the Northern Ireland legislation was now being watched with disbelief across the Atlantic.

Recalling his time in command of the SAS between 2005 and 2008, he said British and American special operations forces had “worked closer than ever before” against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Now, he said, those same US allies are baffled.

“Our allies over here in the US look at what’s happening in the UK – the objections that the SAS and others, the veteran community, the military, the generals, soon to be field marshals, are all raising on this Northern Ireland Bill – and they simply can’t understand what’s happening,” he told GB News.

For Williams personally, the SAS association’s decision to put the Government on notice that it will sue if the bill passes in its current form is “beyond astonishing”.

“I don’t even know how to describe it, how shocking it is,” he said.

Iraq rescue row echoes today’s battle over veterans

Williams drew a direct parallel between today’s confrontation with Whitehall and a crisis he faced in Iraq on 19 September 2005, when two SAS men were seized by Iranian-backed militants in southern Iraq and were being moved towards Iran “for what would be ritual humiliation and death”.

At the time, he said, elements of the chain of command tried to block a rescue mission.

“When the chain of command, unclear about what to do, turned to me and said, ‘Look, Richard, you’ve got to understand that there’s more at stake than your men’s lives.’

Needless to say, a couple of conversations happened. We unblocked that blockage. The squadron rescued them and, relatively speaking, all was well.”

He now sees the same mentality at work in Westminster:

“It reminds me now of someone saying to me, ‘What you have to understand, Richard, and your types, is there’s more at stake than your men’s welfare.’ What on earth are you talking about?”

According to Williams, men who “took on armed insurgents in an armed insurrection on UK soil” should be enjoying a “long and honoured retirement” but are instead being hauled back into court “initiated by this very bill”.

‘Fuel on the flames’ and a ‘bonfire of persecution’

Williams rejected the Government’s claim that the new system will help draw a line under the Troubles.

“It won’t deliver, in our view, an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland that could bubble up again,” he warned. “In our view, actually, [it] will pour fuel onto those particular flames, or those embers, and it’ll be the veterans who will be sacrificed on that bonfire of persecution.”

He said it was no surprise that the SAS association had taken such an “astonishing step” as threatening legal action:

“Sometimes London needs to be reminded of its priorities from the guys on the ground, and people like Matt [Hellyer] and Bob [Parr] and others who, quite frankly, it’s been my honour to serve alongside.”

Parr: ‘National honour’ at stake – and No 10 is missing

Dr Bob Parr, who served as a warrant officer in the regiment, has already accused the Government of treating the issue as an irritant rather than a matter of principle.

In his original interview, Parr said he was “astonished” that ministers were ploughing on with a bill which, critics say, strips away protections and opens the door to renewed historic prosecutions.

“I haven’t heard the Prime Minister engage at any level. It’s time he did,” Parr said. “This is an issue of pressing national security concern. It’s a question of national honour. It’s time for Number 10 to step up and actually address it directly.”

Williams backed Parr and fellow veteran Matthew Hellyer as “outstanding British soldiers” who “should be listened to”, and described it as “remarkable” that the Prime Minister has still not addressed the issue head-on.

Instead, he accused the Government of hiding behind “very light statements” about protections “that no one believes in” and of failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

Growing political and public pressure

The veterans’ warnings are now being echoed, in more guarded terms, by politicians and commentators.

Former Conservative immigration minister Tom Pursglove described the Government’s approach as “completely wrong-headed”, saying it left “elderly veterans fearing a knock at the door” while doing nothing to bring victims’ families closer to the truth.

Government insists it is strengthening protections

A Government spokesman told GB News that ministers were introducing “six real workable protections for veterans” and would not allow “the process, like so many times before, to become the punishment for our veterans”.

The spokesman insisted the new system would both protect those who served “so honourably” and provide victims with “a human-rights-compliant, fair and transparent system to seek answers”.

For Williams and Parr, those assurances ring hollow. Between Williams’ Iraq rescue story and Parr’s warning that “national honour” is on the line, the message from Britain’s most elite regiment is blunt: London has forgotten its priorities – and unless it changes course, veterans, not terrorists, will pay the price.