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Sir David's dig about lawyers drew a prim response from the PM. The House didn't warm to Starmer's tone... QUENTIN LETTS on SAS veterans

Sir David's dig about lawyers drew a prim response from the PM. The House didn't warm to Starmer's tone... QUENTIN LETTS on SAS veterans

Daily Mail​2 days ago
Tim Collins was in the gallery for PMQs with some old Army colleagues, one of them a beret-topped old lad quite possibly carved from mesquite wood.
Col Collins was the Royal Irish Regiment commander who in 2003, before the Iraq war, gave his men a speech about death and honour and the imperatives both of ruthlessness in battle and magnanimity in victory. It ended with the stirring words 'our business now is north'.
Anyway, he and the mesquite guy and their friends were in the Commons to hear Sir David Davis (Con, Goole & Pocklington) urge the Prime Minister to stop the legal harassment of former soldiers who served in Northern Ireland. The Government, whose attorney-general Lord Hermer KC once represented Gerry Adams, intends to undo a 2023 law which gave soldiers part-immunity from such prosecutions. It is the sort of area in which Sir Keir and his old buddy Hermer kept themselves busy in their professional days. We may guess their instincts.
PMs can not always indulge their youthful radicalism. They must consider bigger concepts such as military morale, natural justice and public sentiment, which is not necessarily as fussed about dead IRA terrorists' human rights as certain fancy KCs might be.
Sir David spoke up, for the sixth time in recent months, for veterans who could be 'exposed to legal persecution for crimes they did not commit'.
Up in the gallery, Col Collins and his neighbours listened impassively. When lobby groups visit Parliament they normally do much nodding and craning of necks to demonstrate their emotional involvement. These Army boys did none of that. They just sat there like troopers awaiting the first shot of a skirmish. They were controlled. Intent.
Sir David noted that during the Troubles there was never a shortage of legal oversight for the security forces. 'No bullet went unscrutinised. Our soldiers were held to the highest standard of law. The IRA were not. They tortured and shot men in the back.'
Yet now the Government intended to prosecute 'our own men' over split-second decisions taken decades ago.
The House, which had earlier been in a rather silly mood, listened to all this in silence. Sir David has, over the years, rebelled enough against his own whips to have earned the right to be heard. To swelling agreement he asked: 'Will the Government protect our veterans or sacrifice them to politically motivated lawyers trying to rewrite history with a pack of lies?'
There followed, from Sir Keir, a 15-sentence reply that was oddly tone-deaf and, I fear, horribly revealing. For it was quickly evident that Sir David's line about 'politically motivated lawyers' had irked Sir Keir. Touched a nerve, you might even say.
He complained that the final part of Sir David's question had lacked 'seriousness'. 'We have to get this right,' he said primly, 'but we don't get there by cheapening the debate. It's not about political point scoring.'
'Cheapening the debate' and 'scoring points'? If anyone were guilty of that, it wasn't David Davis. The House did not warm to Sir Keir's reply. Some MPs growled at it. Sir David himself looked startled that the Prime Minister had responded with such lack of, well, seriousness.
As for Col Collins and his men, they flinched not an inch, or in the case of the hard-as-mesquite man, a twig.
One sensed that they were unsurprised. Soldiers, and others who put their lives on the line for our safety, seldom have much time for lawyers.
After PMQs there was an urgent question about the future of jury trials, which are under threat. During this discussion a justice minister, Sarah Sackman KC, spoke of the 'revered judge' who had come up with this grotty proposal. One often hears lawyers describe judges as 'distinguished' (they love the word). But 'revered'? That is quite a leap.
Ms Sackman, who was on wearisomely partisan form, trilled away about how non-jury trials would be quicker and more efficient. Down my neck ran a chill.
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Cash use to be tracked amid ‘two-tier society' fears
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Cash use to be tracked amid ‘two-tier society' fears

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Britain is broke: how inflation-linked debt costs us £60bn
Britain is broke: how inflation-linked debt costs us £60bn

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Britain is broke: how inflation-linked debt costs us £60bn

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Have YOU got a story? Email: poppy.gibson@mailonline.co.uk
Have YOU got a story? Email: poppy.gibson@mailonline.co.uk

Daily Mail​

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Have YOU got a story? Email: poppy.gibson@mailonline.co.uk

A firefighter was attacked during a night of bonfires across Northern Ireland ahead of the annual Orange Order parades. The emergency service worker was attacked while attending a bonfire in Lisburn, eight miles outside Belfast but was uninjured and remained on duty. The incident occurred on Friday as tens of thousands prepared to take to the streets across the region for the traditional celebrations on Saturday. As part of the festivities effigies of rap trio Kneecap were set alight and Irish flags were burned on pyres along with 300 other bonfires in loyalist neighbourhoods across the region on Thursday and Friday nights. It comes after widespread condemnation of the celebrations after effigies of migrants in a boat were burned on a bonfire in Moygashel, County Tyrone on Thursday. Bonfires raged across the country to mark the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne where the Protestant King William of Orange triumphed over the Catholic King James II. 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He told the BBC that a council committee vote earlier this week to remove the bonfire was a 'political decision'. A pyre set alight at Meridi Street, off the Donegall Road in Belfast as part of the Twelfth commemorations marking the anniversary of the Protestant King William's victory over the Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said it dealt with 72 bonfire related incidents across Friday evening. One firefighter was attacked while attending a bonfire in Lisburn, Co Antrim. NIFRS area commander Andy Burns said: 'Between 6pm 11 July and 2am 12 July 2025, we received 277 emergency 999 calls. 'This resulted in our firefighters attending 194 operational incidents, 72 of which were bonfire related. Peak activity was between 10pm and 1am. 'During this period, the number of emergency calls received increased by 154% when compared to 2024. 'It was a challenging and extremely busy night for NIFRS with an increase in demand for our regional control centre and emergency response.' The spokesperson added: 'Disappointingly, a firefighter was attacked while attending a bonfire in Lisburn. They were not injured and remained on duty. 'This was an isolated incident and not reflective of the support shown to firefighters in carrying out their duties across the evening.' The Police Service of Northern Ireland said they were investigating a hate incident in relation to a fire which featured life-sized effigies of a migrants in a dinghy, wearing life jackets Of all the loyal order parades to take place on Saturday, around 30 have been officially categorised as sensitive by the Parades Commission. Locations of sensitive parades this year include Belfast, Coleraine, Keady, Dunloy, Rasharkin, Strabane, Newtownabbey, Maghera, Newtownbutler, Portadown, Glengormley and Bellaghy. More than 4,000 police officers and police staff will be working on July 12. On the 11th night, around 1,200 officers were deployed to monitor public safety at bonfires. The cost of policing parades and bonfires in Northern Ireland through spring and summer was £6.1 million last year, a figure that was up £1.5 million on the previous year. The bill, which covers the period April 1 to August 31, also includes the cost of policing republican commemorations around Easter and events to mark the mid-August anniversary of the introduction of internment without trial during the Troubles. The PSNI expects the costs in 2025 to be higher still. This is due to falling police numbers and the resultant increased reliance on paying overtime to ensure enough officers are on duty for the events. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has urged mutual respect in the marking of events. He said: 'Our officers will be on the ground throughout the weekend, working in partnership with community leaders, event organisers, and local representatives to support lawful, peaceful, and family-friendly events. However where necessary, we will take firm and proportionate action to keep people safe. 'Our priority remains the safety and wellbeing of everyone.' On Sunday morning, an Orange Order parade has been permitted to pass Ardoyne shops in north Belfast restricted to one band and 50 members of the order. It is a return parade at a former flashpoint which traditionally took place on the evening of July 12 often resulting in violent scenes. Meanwhile, the traditional July 13 events organised by the Royal Black Preceptory in the village of Scarva, Co Armagh will take place on Monday.

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