Starmer is sacrificing our troops on the altar of human rights law

Telegraph

15-07-2025

Soldiers are known for marching, either in ceremonial array or drilling for battle, but they wouldn't normally be seen dead on a 'march'. They leave the protests to civilians. But things are not normal, alarmingly far from normal in fact, so here we all are. The Northern Ireland veterans who gathered in Parliament Square on Monday feel they are under attack from their own Government. Threatened repeal of the Legacy Act once again opens up the prospect of men in their 70s being prosecuted – I typed 'persecuted' which is nearer the mark – for serving Queen and country in Operation Banner over 40 years ago.
It was a glorious afternoon in central London, but the threat of vindictive 'lawfare' cast a long shadow over the old boys, their faces etched with betrayal. Now, they came together for one last battle.
In brief, the Government now claims that the Legacy Act, introduced by the Conservatives to draw a line under vexatious cases against military personnel, is 'unlawful' – incompatible with various articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal. There is no obligation for Parliament to make amends to the Act. The move to do so appears to come from the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, and his commitment to adhere to international law at any cost, no matter if the British Parliament ends up shafting our own people. (Lord Hermer probably thinks it's 'far-Right' to even suggest there is such a thing as 'our own people').
Just to add insult to so many horrific, lifelong injuries, repealing the Act would open the door to compensation for hundreds of suspected Republicans who were imprisoned, including the former Sinn Fein leader, potentially totalling many millions of taxpayer-funded pounds.
Gerry Adams, who is facing claims in the High Court that he sat on the IRA Army Council when it directed three terrorist attacks in England, was formerly represented in this case by – *checks notes* – Attorney General Lord Hermer.
Don't worry, folks, I'm sure having had the now senior legal advisor to the Crown help Gerry Adams is no biggie.
Unlike international human rights experts, British soldiers tend to be straightforward, patriotic souls: they prefer the fog of war to the bog of law. At least in war the enemy is clearly on the other side.
What side are Sir Keir Starmer, Lord Hermer and the Labour Government on? Chatting to groups of comrades from the Parachute Regiment, Royal Artillery and Fusiliers, I was left in no doubt as to what they think. The mood towards the Prime Minster and Attorney General can best be summed up in two words: Fix bayonets.
It is this latest, and perhaps worst, example of Starmer's two-tier justice that is causing so much resentment. A public petition was signed by over 175,000 people who feel strongly that those who served this country should not be treated worse than the murderers they defeated. The veterans were assembled for the debate in Westminster Hall, which that petition triggered.
'They let hundreds of IRA terrorists off, and we're being prosecuted for doing our job,' says Paul, who did 10 tours of Northern Ireland with the Parachute Regiment. 'It's a double standard. They want a fall guy, they want to put a Para inside – they're appeasing the terrorists.'
'It's revenge for Bloody Sunday,' his mate Jonno chips in. 'There have been so many investigations over the years and everyone was cleared. How many times do we have to be put through this?'
Dave, the third member of the trio, impeccable in their bemedalled blazers and berets, reckons it all dates back to Starmer's visit to Stormont shortly after his general election victory last July. 'It's political,' he says curtly. 'The Labour Party is giving Sinn Fein what they want. They're out to get a scapegoat, and they won't stop until they get someone.'
In what other profession are former junior employees held to account for their actions, threatened with imprisonment and judged according to entirely different standards almost half a century later? Not the law or politics, that's for sure.
Paul, Jonno and Dave were scared kids when they were first posted to Northern Ireland. 'We were 17, 18 years old.' It was 1981, and the IRA hunger strikes were going on. There were months of riots, shootings and bombings, and the wet-behind-the-ears recruits had to deal with the uneasy ordeal of being hated and under attack on British soil. 'You didn't sleep for six weeks – just on constant duty,' Paul recalls. He says they grabbed what rest they could in the back of a bus in Andersonstown in west Belfast. 'I slept in a garden,' Jonno grimaces.
They had a yellow card with strict rules for opening fire. 'We always had to give a warning – three warnings,' says Dave. ''Army! Stop or I'll fire!' If they were running away you couldn't engage them.'
'The terrorists didn't have any rules,' says Paul bitterly.
No, they did not. Lest we forget, the IRA murdered 700 British soldiers (319 RUC officers lost their lives), and under Tony Blair's Good Friday Agreement they were granted immunity. So-called 'letters of comfort' protected terrorists from future prosecution. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was bearable as long as there was fairness.
'If you're giving amnesty to the enemy, why wouldn't you do the same for our soldiers? It's contemptible,' says Col Nick Kitson (DSO) who served with the British Army in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and is a former 22 SAS Commander.
A decorated war hero, suave, silver fox Col Kitson was part of a formidable group of SAS veterans at Westminster on Monday. You can tell things are very grave indeed when our Special Forces break cover. They were there because they can see how European human rights law is 'making good guys the bad guys', and putting national security in peril. Others in the group included George Simm, redoubtable Geordie, former regimental sergeant major of the SAS and my new favourite human. Put it this way, when the next English civil war breaks out, I'm going to be wherever George is, cowering behind his mighty, reassuring form. I've promised I'll make the sandwiches.
Also striding across the road to the debate in Westminster Hall was Falklands War legend Aldwin Wight, commanding officer of 22 SAS from 1992 to 1994. Brigadier Wight wrote an excoriating open missive (missile, I should say) back in May, in which he took aim at a spineless establishment that is woefully ignorant of the extreme circumstances soldiers face in the line of fire. 'The trust between veterans and their former employer, the Government, is broken,' he thundered, pointing out the absurdity of a situation where 'the employer, the Government, gives funds to lawyers to take out cases against the soldiers that work for the Government.'
An equally incredulous George Simm reports that the SAS sought legal advice and was told that Northern Ireland soldiers cannot benefit from human rights legislation that assists terrorists. In practice, this keeps the lawyers' gravy train (a richly-upholstered Orient Express rather than a Standard-class puffer) chugging along.
George gave me an example of one SAS mission in Afghanistan. The objective was to extract a notorious bombmaker alive. The Regiment took pains to protect innocent people, putting themselves at greater risk, but there was 'a mad firefight in the dark, bullets zinging everywhere', and the bombmaker was killed. 'Investigators at the time found that what happened was reasonable in the context. However, years later, lawyers encouraged Afghan families to bring a prosecution, telling them they had a case under ECHR laws.'
In other words, British human rights lawyers are actively touting for business among our enemies in order to enrich themselves and to hell with our armed forces. I call that treason. It's hard to think of any other country which would engage in such a wicked act of self-harm. Still, it seemed to get a thumbs up from Lord Hermer when he praised the disgraced solicitor Phil Shiner whose claims of war crimes by British soldiers were rejected by the High Court. In March 2015, when Shiner was placed under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after a judge said that his claims of soldier wrongdoing were 'deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility', Hermer enthused at a legal event that 'Phil has caused the Government a great deal of aggravation over the last 15 years. He's brought successfully some extraordinarily important cases that have exposed systemic use of torture, for example, by the British Army in Iraq.' (Allies of Hermer have pointed out that he subsequently condemned Shiner for his reprehensible behaviour.)
With people in charge who revel in the shaming of our Army – with a few grim exceptions, one of the most honourable in the world – is it any wonder that the forces face a recruitment crisis? What parents are going to allow their son or daughter to sign up when they might face prosecution for simply doing their duty?
So far, as Justice for Veterans points out, the Government is repealing an Act which is the only thing which gives soldiers protection, leaving them with anxiety and uncertainty. The campaign group is calling for an act that protects soldiers from the legal gravy train and vexatious pursuit. And for the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) and International humanitarian law to supersede the Human Rights Act as the guiding principles for the 'rules of engagement'. Hear, hear, say the British people. The human rights of terrorists must not be allowed to hold our brave soldiers to ransom.
As David Davis MP said later in a thrillingly good speech at the debate, 'The Prime Minister dismissed it as 'political point scoring'. He is wrong; it is a matter of justice, a matter of ensuring that those who risked their lives to protect our citizens during the Troubles know that the state stands behind them… Getting this right is not just a matter of historical justice. The legal witch hunt will not end in Northern Ireland; it will cast a shadow over every future conflict.'
The soldier sitting next to me was clearly moved, but refused to cry. He turned to me and said, 'Normally, we wouldn't wear berets indoors, but we want them to know who we are.' Oh, they know who you are, and we won't let them forget you.
One last thought. As a nation, we don't have many areas of expertise, bordering on genius, left. Acting is one, the SAS is another. Internationally renowned, relied upon and trusted in a way Starmer's far-Left Government could never be, the threat to the Special Forces is now ringing alarm bells amongst our allies. I am told the US is appalled by what is happening to the SAS: Generals Mike Flynn and Stan McChrystal have both expressed their concerns.
It is outrageous that the Government is seeking to create some sort of moral equivalence between IRA killers and the SAS heroes who outwitted them, fighting with almost superhuman resourcefulness and courage. All the bombs that didn't go off, all those who might have died but who lived to tell the tale. We will never know what we owe them, but gratitude is the very least of it.
Labour has upset the farmers, the fishermen, the pensioners, the disabled, the small business people, the rich, the oil and steelworkers… Well, this time, they picked a fight with giants.