Labour has been accused of letting IRA terrorists ‘rewrite history’ after it emerged former paramilitaries may sit on a veterans’ board – as nine fresh cases look set to be brought against British army veterans.
Ministers have already drawn fire from veterans after scrapping the Legacy Act, a Tory law which gave soldiers immunity from prosecutions.
The laws required fresh evidence to be brought to court to resurrect cases from the Troubles, which lasted from the 60s until 1998. Labour’s decision to tear up these protections has sparked outrage, with critics warning it will expose veterans to waves of political motivated prosecutions.
Labour insists its alternative will create a ‘fair and transparent system’ that will help heal the wounds of the Troubles.
But new information unearthed by the Mail on Sunday casts further doubt on these claims.
It now emerges that IRA terrorists may be allowed to sit on the ‘Victims and Survivors Advisory Group’, which is meant to ‘raise awareness’ on ‘issues affecting victims and survivors of our troubled past’ for veterans. Labour claim it will give a ‘strong independent voice’ to those impacted by the conflict.
However, in answers to Parliamentary questions Ministers have confessed known terrorists may be involved in the process. Fuming critics said involving them would ‘make a mockery of the whole thing’ – which was originally intended to be for veterans of the conflict to have ‘a right to be heard’.
It has led Tory grandee David Davis that Labour is a ‘willing accomplice in the IRA’s attempts to rewrite history’.
Labour has been accused of letting IRA terrorists ‘rewrite history’ after it emerged former paramilitaries may sit on a veterans’ board – as nine fresh cases look set to be brought against British army veterans. Pictured: the aftermath of the IRA bomb which destroyed London’s Baltic Exchange in April 1992
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge also condemned the move. He said this new development was ‘yet another betrayal of our veterans’ which would ‘open the floodgates of politically motivated claims.’
This comes as Irish Republicans, emboldened by Labour binning the Legacy Act, have vowed to bring even more cases to court in a relentless pursuit of army veterans.
These fears were confirmed in yesterday’s Daily Mail when it revealed 24 cases new cases will be brought against SAS veterans over an inquest into a 1987 IRA attack in Loughgall.
These 24 cases are on top of nine other new cases are already set to be brought to court under the new laws, which will reopen inquests stopped under the old Tory laws.
Speculation is now mounting that every single one of these fresh cases will target British Army veterans. Despite ample opportunities in Parliamentary questions asked by Cartlidge, this is something Labour has repeatedly failed to deny.
When pressed on the issue, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn dodged the question. Rather than giving a straight answer, he said: ‘it is only right these [cases] are discussed with the affected families’ before they are brought back to court.
A furious Davis added: ‘The people who will pay the price will be our loyal, patriotic, and courageous soldiers, acting on behalf of the Crown to defend our democracy against evil insurgents. And the only beneficiaries will be the IRA.’
More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition against Labour’s ripping up of protections for Northern Ireland veterans.
These shocking new revelations will only add to the growing criticism around Labour’s mishandling of troubles-era legislation.
