Veterans hold talks at Downing Street to voice their concerns over Troubles Bill
Veterans who raised their concerns about the controversial Troubles Bill with officials during a meeting at Downing Street have welcomed the opportunity and described the talks as "open and frank".
They told BFBS Forces News they feel they have a long way to go to achieve the protections they are lobbying for, and it is too early for optimism yet, but they were pleased to have made their case and said they felt they were listened to.
The veterans fear the government's plans will expose both past and present personnel to lawfare – legal action underaken as part of a hostile campaign against a group.
Anxious time for veterans
The Troubles Bill was designed to repeal and replace the contentious Legacy Act introduced by the previous Conservative government, ending the immunity scheme brought in under the law, which was ruled unlawful by the courts.
The government says that the Legacy Act 2023 offered the false promise of conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes.
It is an anxious time for many veterans who served in Northern Ireland, who are fearful of the new bill and what it might mean for them.
After several protests over the last few months, they were offered a meeting to share their concerns behind closed doors at No 10.
They were not allowed to talk about the details of the meeting, but gave their reaction to BFBS Forces News in Downing Street afterwards.
"I'm glad that we were able to engage with [the] government over the Troubles Bill and we were able to put our objections to it to people in the meeting," Paul Young, from the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, said.
"We had a good, frank discussion. We will be meeting them again because it's important to keep the dialogue going. We are, I think, a long way from the middle, as it were.
"But we can only get where we want to be by engaging with the process, and that's what we intend to do."
Major General (Retired) Dair Farrar-Hockley was one of the veterans who attended the meeting.
"The atmosphere was open, friendly, they gave us every opportunity to make some very serious points that we want considered, and I believe they will consider it. Whether that leads to the sort of amendments we want, time will tell," he said.
Veterans' concerns addressed at meeting
Veterans were pleased to be invited to the heart of government to discuss their concerns.
"I think it shows that they take our concerns seriously. I mean, we could have had this meeting in any other building, you know, in Whitehall, but they didn't. We were invited into Number 10, and it was quite an experience to go in and look around there," Mr Young said.
"But I hope that by doing that they are taking our concerns seriously and will act on it. But only time will tell, and this is just the start of perhaps a different level of process."
The government says it's bringing forward a "substantial package of amendments" at the committee stage to "further safeguard veterans."
The veterans will be able to see whether their lobbying has worked when the bill is considered at the committee stage.
"They're trying to do what they think is right. They're trying to do what they think is the best and we're trying to get protection for our veterans that meets our objectives. We hope to get there in the end. But it's going to be a long process, I think," Mr Young added.
In the meantime, there is frustration that they haven't seen any amendments yet.
"I think what troubles us a little bit is that the Northern Ireland Office haven't published any amendments to the bill, and so we've got a few weeks now to wait until the next session starts... it's kind of like asking you to buy a car without seeing it. But we'll keep going on with the process," Mr Young explained.
A UK government spokesperson said: "The Legacy Act 2003 offered the false promise of conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes. It was found to be incompatible with international law, thrown out twice by the courts and left veterans without any protections.
"In contrast, we are bringing forward a substantial package of amendments at committee stage to further safeguard our veterans, in addition to the vital new protections already in the bill.
"There is no question of veterans being prosecuted for having followed the rules."
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