Legacy Act: Hilary Benn accuses Conservatives of making false promises to veterans-OxBig News Network

The Northern Ireland secretary has accused the Conservatives of making “false promises” to veterans with the controversial Legacy Act, as he defended Labour’s plans to replace it.

Hilary Benn was speaking during a three-hour debate in Parliament, which saw MPs clash over legacy in the presence of some military veterans.

The act, which was brought in by the Conservatives, introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to incidents during the Troubles.

It also sought to offer a conditional amnesty for people suspected of Troubles-related crimes in exchange for co-operating with a new information recovery body – that was later ruled unlawful.

Labour is in the process of repealing the act, but has faced a backlash from some who say it could reopen prosecutions against military veterans.

Speaking in Westminster on Monday evening, Benn said that 202 live inquiries into Troubles-related killings of members of the armed forces were brought to a stop in May 2024 and a further 23 involving veterans – as a result of the controversial legacy act.

He was responding to a petition signed by more than 170,000 people calling for Labour to safeguard “protections for veterans around prosecutions for Troubles-related incidents”.

Benn said hundreds of military families were still seeking answers, and that the government was “listening carefully” to veterans as well as victims and their relatives.

“I and the defence secretary are engaging with our veterans community and with all interested parties over future legislation, and we will ensure that there are far better protections in place,” he added.

But Conservative MP and Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois described the government’s plans as “two-tier justice at its worst”.

He said many veterans now effectively had a “sword of Damocles hanging over them again”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster on Tuesday, Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone said the petition and debate was an “achievement”.

“I think the first 100,000 signed this petition within one week of it being launched with no build up,” Mr Johnstone said.

“I think that reflects the views of veterans right across the United Kingdom and just how exercised and frustrated and incensed they are at the current government policy to repeal and replace parts of the Legacy Act.”

Mr Johnstone added: “We’re 27 years on from what society was told would be peace and normalisation and yet the veterans are very much the forgotten part of the Troubles.”

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson accused the government of seeking to “rewrite the history of the past”, and said his party had opposed the Legacy Act for “very different reasons” than Sinn Féin.

“We’re asking for the government to protect those who protected us,” he added.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP Robin Swann hit out at what he called “point-scoring” between Conservative and Labour MPs during the debate, adding that any party in power had a duty to “get this right to make sure those people who served aren’t dragged through the courts”.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said the secretary of state needed to take veterans’ concerns seriously.

“This government is said to be tackling legacy issues and if this government is going to tackle it, then it needs to stem it by tackling inquests and that route which is now producing potential prosecutions of some of the bravest of our citizens,” he said.

Ahead of the debate, hundreds of military veterans protested in Westminster against Labour’s plans to change the law.

They say they fear it could reopen the possibility of more prosecutions against Army veterans.

Almost 170,000 people signed a petition backed by Francois, demanding Labour not make any changes to the law that would allow Northern Ireland veterans to be prosecuted – a level which means the subject has to be debated by MPs.

Among those at the protest were Geoff Butler and Glen Espie, who each served tours in Northern Ireland.

Mr Butler said his message to the government was to “get rid” of its plans and listen to veterans.

“It’s totally ridiculous the way this has come to a head… Labour fell for this, half the MPs in the Commons weren’t born during the Troubles, what do they know about it?”

Mr Espie said he attended the protest to support colleagues who he felt were at risk of being “put in court as elderly veterans”.

“It’s not right. Successive British governments have let down the veterans community.”

The act was passed by the Conservative government in September 2023 despite opposition from Labour, all Northern Ireland parties, several victims’ groups and the Irish government.

It created a new legacy body known ICRIR to take over all Troubles-era cases from 1 May 2024, including those on the desk of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The act shut down all historical inquests.

The act’s most controversial element, the offer of conditional immunity to suspects, was disapplied following legal action by bereaved families.

The court ruled this part of the act was incompatible with human rights’ legislation and the Windsor Framework.

Last July, the Labour government wrote to the Belfast courts abandoning an appeal against the striking out of the amnesty clause in the legislation.

In December, the secretary of state formally started the process to repeal the act, but as well as prompting a backlash from veterans who do not want to see the law repealed, he was criticised by some political parties and victims’ groups for not moving quickly enough.