Mr Bayo Alaba

I am pleased to be able to participate in today’s debate. I did not serve in Northern Ireland, but I did spend time as a Parachute Regiment reservist—an experience that laid the foundations of my path to becoming the Member of Parliament for Southend East and Rochford. It afforded me opportunities I would never have otherwise experienced, and I know the same is true for countless others. Paratroopers served alongside members of our armed forces and the Northern Irish security forces throughout Operation Banner, often in the most dangerous situations. They were asked to do an immensely difficult job in the hope of delivering lasting peace. Many of those soldiers, now in their 70s and 80s, have spent decades fearing a knock at their door. The unjust reality is that most who are fearful of historical prosecutions are largely working-class men who served in their late teens or 20s. I want to speak to the point made by the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) about justice for victims and civilians, which I fully understand. What I would say is those young service personnel are victims, too. They saw and experienced things that they cannot unsee. They were deployed to Northern Ireland on the instructions of the British Government and fulfilled their duties as commanded by their chain of command. That is why I feel so passionately about the Bill and the protections it must offer. For more than a quarter of a century, the job of properly addressing the legacy of the troubles has been kicked down the road by successive Governments. This legislation is an attempt to end that unwillingness and to deliver justice to all those affected. What it is not is an attempt to unfairly target British soldiers with legal proceedings or to reopen wounds that are barely healed. The truth is that if this legislation is not passed, those who served in Operation Banner would be completely exposed to spurious prosecution and would lack the immunity that they were falsely promised. This legislation will offer veterans new protections, including strict guidelines on what can be considered new and compelling evidence, measures to adequately recognise the context in which soldiers were operating, and the explicit rejection of equivalence between service personnel and insurgents. That is why, despite my concerns about certain details of the Bill, I have worked extensively with the veteran community, most notably the Parachute Regimental Association, throughout this process. I commend it for the good-faith nature in which it has engaged. This Bill is not perfect, but it is a marked improvement on the flawed legislation passed in 2023. The consequences of not getting this Bill right are very real, and while the failure of the process would belong to us all, its impact will be felt hardest by those we claim to support. If we are unable to talk, listen and make good-faith compromises, we risk repeating the mistakes that this legislation seeks to correct. No one here wants to see our children and our grandchildren patrolling the streets of Belfast again. We have a duty to prevent that cycle of violence from reigniting. I want this Bill to go even further in protecting our veterans, and I will keep working with the veteran community and the Government to make that happen. We do need justice, we need closure, and families need answers, but, most of all, we need long-lasting peace.