Contribution
I will always stand on the side of innocent victims and with those who put on a uniform to protect them, but regardless of whether this Bill passes or not, veterans sadly continue to live in a state of uncertainty and are continually faced with the threat of future lawfare and vexatious investigations. We need only recall the outrageous persecution of Soldier F. Despite the slurs and inaccurate comments from Members in this place last week, I want to remind the Committee that Soldier F was acquitted. He was found not guilty of murder, but how much of his life in his elderly years was spent defending himself against a prosecution in which the evidence fell well short? Veterans live with this fear every single day, and while some of the amendments may be superficially attractive, the Secretary of State must explain how they will actually protect those who serve. We cannot accept provisions that are, in substance, legally ineffective.
Loughgall has been mentioned throughout the debate. The Secretary of State’s clarity is stark, and it is not lost on veterans. Those in the East Tyrone IRA killing wing were bloodthirsty. They went to that police station armed to the teeth with guns and a bomb. They were not scouts going to the police station. They went there to kill, and they met real soldiers, who stopped them and saved hundreds of lives as a result. We cannot allow their murderous intent to be forgotten while those soldiers face further proceedings almost 40 years later.
There has already been an inquest, which concluded in 1995, and there is no need for a further inquest. The Secretary of State is not taking the opportunity to protect those who saved countless lives, because this Bill will allow for the 2015 proceedings to resume. I support amendment 51, tabled by the right hon. Member for Goole and Pocklington (David Davis), which I and my hon. Friends have signed, to prevent this resumption. Those soldiers were sent by this country to confront the IRA, and they did so courageously and bravely. This Government now need to explain what protection they are actually going to give them.
On further protections for veterans, we are told that they will get a warning before being contacted and can give evidence via video link. Under new clause 45, the warning procedure does not even apply when someone is contacted because they are suspected of an offence, but that is exactly what many veterans fear. Even for witnesses, contact can proceed after 14 days whether or not the warning has reached them. The ability to give evidence remotely remains subject to whether that is considered practical. Does the Secretary of State think that veterans will stop worrying because they can answer questions from their living room? The veteran’s family will still be living with the same fear about what comes next. Basic courtesy and a broadband connection are not meaningful protections for our veterans.
Amendment 52, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for North Down (Alex Easton), which I have signed, would prevent people being appointed to the victims and survivors advisory group if they are or have been members of political parties with links to or that support paramilitary or terrorist organisations, past or present. Why should innocent victims be expected to accept people with those political associations on a group established to represent their interests? They should not, and I, along with my hon. Friends, will be supporting that amendment.
On the on-the-run letters, the Secretary of State will know that I tabled new clause 9, supported by my hon. Friends, to make it clear that the on-the-runs administrative scheme did not grant immunity from prosecution. I am pleased—the Secretary of State should take note, because that does not often happen—that the Government have tabled new clause 51 to prevent criminal proceedings being stopped or decisions to prosecute being quashed on grounds founded on the content of those abhorrent letters. Leaving aside the fact that this rotten scheme should never have been secretly contrived by the Blair Labour Government in the first place, it is welcome that the Government are legislating to have their legal effect extinguished.
However, I do have one concern. The Committee will be aware of the ongoing prosecution of John Downey, who previously escaped justice for bombing England via reliance on the OTR letter he had received. He is currently being prosecuted for other terrorist offences, and this prosecution has commenced. Therefore, new clause 51 must ensure that its provisions encompass proceedings that have already commenced but not concluded. Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity tonight to expressly confirm that? Will he also confirm that no transitional or saving provision will preserve reliance on those letters in such cases? We cannot see another prosecution stopped because of an OTR letter issued under the Labour Government’s abhorrent scheme.
There are also serious shortcomings in the scope of the Bill. By its definition, the troubles end on 10 April 1998. That leaves out the Omagh bombing, the single deadliest atrocity of the troubles. Members have heard my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) give his commentary on that important issue, and I urge them to support amendment 23. On 15 August 1998, the Real IRA murdered 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins—31 lives were taken. It is simply wrong that an atrocity of that magnitude falls outside the scope of legislation dealing with the legacy of the troubles. The Government should accept the amendment. I sincerely ask sincerely: what is the problem?