Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois has called on the government to take immediate action to protect Northern Ireland veterans from potential prosecution.
His comments come as a petition demanding legal safeguards for veterans rapidly gains support, amassing over 38,000 signatures in just four days.
The petition, titled Protect Northern Ireland Veterans from Prosecutions, calls on the government to avoid changes to legislation that would enable the prosecution of veterans involved in Operation Banner, the British Army’s long-running operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007. The petition argues that those who served should not be prosecuted for actions carried out during their duty to combat terrorism.
In a statement, Francois said: “This petition is growing rapidly having amassed over 33,000 names in barely four days. This is about preventing ‘two-tier justice’ – one for our brave Op-Banner veterans and another for the likes of Gerry Adams. We are essentially asking people to help defend those who defended us.”
The petition was launched amid growing concerns about proposed legislative changes that could see veterans prosecuted for historical actions during the Troubles. Critics argue that new legislation could unfairly target former service personnel while allowing individuals previously involved in paramilitary activities to avoid legal consequences.
The campaign has sparked a broader debate on how the UK government addresses historical allegations related to military operations in Northern Ireland. The petition calls for a firm stance to prevent what Francois describes as an imbalance in justice.
The petition, created by Ian Robert Liles, requires 100,000 signatures to be considered for a parliamentary debate. As of now, it has passed the 10,000-signature threshold, which mandates a formal government response within three days.
To support the petition, visit the official UK Parliament petitions page: Protect Northern Ireland Veterans from Prosecutions.
With NI there was supposed to be a line drawn and a need to look forward for peace. If we’re not going after the terrorists it’s got to go both ways.
On A related note, if any of the stories are true about special forces actions they should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. We don’t know everything or indeed anything for certain but the process has to be followed
That’s two contradictory statements.
But I agree with the first one, when the Good Friday Agreement was signed a line should have been drawn in the sand outside of Bloody Sunday. If Loyalist and Republican terrorists where to be released and letters signed guaranteeing freedom from future prosecution it should the letters should have been signed as part of the GFA and covered everyone including soldiers.
The reason it wasn’t done so was probably because the legal human rights law profession that Mr Blairs wife was a big part of wanted to milk the system dry of every penny they could while delivering justice for no one. There must be well over a billion pounds spent on legal proceedings relating to historical enquiries and its only the legal profession who will benefit from them.
That money could have rebuilt every school in NI or delivered a couple of major infrastructure projects to boost economic growth but it all went to grubby lawyers and is still going there.
I clarified below the two statements reference different time periods
Agree fairness should be the watchword. Personally I always think any actions of soldiers on operations should really be on the state anyway.. not the individual unless it’s profoundly egregious.
If soldeirs act within their ROE (Yellow card for Op BANNER etc) then there should not be any prosecutions.
It’s important to point out that the BBC Panorama programme will happily resort to making unsubstantiated allegations using actors rather than producing evidence and witnesses as they have done many times before, all in the name of impartial investigative journalism. Treat the programme with the contempt it deserves unless evidence is produced.
Which is it then? You are saying in your second paragraph go after the servicemen but in your first leave the terrorists alone🤔
We also have Gerry Adam’s in court down south claiming he wasn’t in the IRA,believe that if you will🙄
Sorry to clarify i mean the recent sf accusations in hit and sandy places
It’s very easy to criticise the actions of people in a potential life-or-death situation from the comfort of an armchair. Not terribly useful though.
I’ve not always been in an armchair.
I think all here understand that decisions made in the heat of the conflict have to be viewed from the perspective of the situation on the ground at the time. We have to uphold the rules of war though because if we don’t we run the serious risk of others not taking care of our bods too.
It is an interesting argument, and the classic one……can you cite any examples of the Russians in UKR following the Geneva conventions?
The orks couldn’t give a shit about Geneva conventions. If they use their own troops as meat shields why would they give a care about any others?
Does that mean we shouldn’t though?
Truth and reconcillation can only happen in the shadow of an amnesty. It’s long past time to learn lessons and move forward. 25 years ago, prisoners from paramilitary groups which continued to maintain “a complete and unequivocal ceasefire” were released. Isn’t it time we recognised that the threat of prison for British soldiers breaks the spirit of the Good Friday agreement, and take that off the table?
Sorry mate not going to happen! Here in NI there isn’t a week that goes by without families calling for ‘justice’ for something that happened in the troubles. Not a word about justice for families of the soldiers and police murdered by the terrorists though! Funny that isn’t it?
Exactly.
Let them call. That’s understandable as it’s their families, who would not react that way, but we have to be bigger than that. In order to stop the bloodshed a deal was done. Explain that position and take British soldiers conduct off the table unequivocally and permanently, legally if possibly, so that those same families can move on. It may not be justice, but it is compassion in its own way. Dangling the continuous posibility of individual “justices” for quarter of a century is what’s cruel.
Maybe in your world that would work but here you might as well bark at the moon! It’s slowly being turned in one case that IRA men running from attacking a police station still with all their weapons and ambushed by the SAS and killed are now being portrayed as the ‘victims’🤬
You really can’t make it up but the republicans are NOT going to let anything lie
,Good Friday agreement or not!
ps Dad was born in the Gregagh Road and Granddad in the Shankhill 🙂 My cousin was in the RUC
Hi Jacko. 100% agree. My cousin who lives in Donaghadee was run over at a road block and badly injured so the Troubles touched many lives but the GFA should have been a line in the sand for ALL involved.
Regards from SA
So its Ok to release murders and give them warm letters, i see none brought back to court just old soldiers. Labour will never defend the military too many lefies and terrorist likers in it like Corbin. Nothing will change and this drag out until every one dies of old age then a wishy washy government will pay out to all those the Army killed no matter what.
Why do us who served there really expect any thing else, we did the job and now we are just discarded.
I read the PM himself plans to revoke the act protecting forces veterans.
Now why am I not surprised, given his background?
In no circumstances will this current crop of third rate politicians we call the cabinet give a shit, or support any servicemen or veteran unless there is a political advantage to be gained from it. Starmer the farmer harmer is fully aware he is on thin ice and has his strings pulled by the left of his cabinet, they ae the ones who push the hidden hard core socialist agenda, hate anything British, to include our history, and support so called idealists and freedom fighters as long as they are a minority and act against the interest of the UK. I’ve cracked a few rioting “paddies” with my baton many many years ago, and therefore I am the enemy of this Government and need to be re-educated and punished.
I agree, this is playing to a certain political constituency. The Prime Minister is in the soup over his rash Southport comments ‘before the fact’. One would hope he has learned something. I said at a the time (yes, I am old!) that we, the British, put 18-19 year olds on the streets of Northern Ireland to settle an 800 year old dispute. It just adds to that near crime to persecute (what else is it?) them now in retirement.
No wonder our army is shrinking, sending our young people into conflict, then letting the families of slain enemy combatants sue them, sheer stupidity.