Northern Ireland

Carns rejects claims veterans 'let down' as five safeguards to be written into law

Al Carns rejects claims that veterans have been "let down"

Al Carns has defended his role in shaping new legislation for Northern Ireland veterans after accusations of "selling out" and prioritising his political career.

The criticism follows an open letter from the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, who argue that the current bill does not go far enough to protect former service personnel.

In an interview, Carns was asked how he responds to those who feel "as if they've been let down". He said he and colleagues had been "fighting exceptionally hard" inside the Ministry of Defence to secure concrete safeguards.

"We started off with nothing. We've got six protections into the bill, five of which will be written into the legislation, written into law, to protect our veterans as we move forward," Al Carns said.

Carns disputed the suggestion that the legislation affects only a small proportion of former soldiers.

"This narrative that it's 60 or 70 veterans out of the 300,000 that served, is just not one I buy into," he said.

"We've got to support those 60 to 70 people, make sure that the process does not become the punishment, and importantly, don't allow anyone to rewrite history."

It's a betrayal of every veteran that's served, say NI veterans

Referring to incidents during the Troubles, he added: "Ninety per cent of all casualties in Northern Ireland were caused by who? By terrorists, not by the Armed Forces."

Mr Carns said he was open to scrutiny but argued he was best placed to make progress from within the government.

"So keep giving me criticism by all means. But it's better to have me in the camp fighting with John Healey and others to get protections for veterans, so no one can hold them or punish them as we move forward," he said.