Sponsored by SSAFA
https:// https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us
————————————————————————-
20 Dec 23. UK to defend veterans from Irish attack on Troubles law.
Military leaders and Tory MPs united in outrage, accusing Irish PM of meddling in British politics in trying to overturn soldiers’ immunity
during the Troubles included Bloody Sunday in 1972. The UK Government vowed on Wednesday to fight Ireland over its “misguided” legal challenge to a flagship British law that gives immunity to hundreds of soldiers involved in the Troubles.
In an attack on Dublin’s leadership, the UK said it “profoundly regrets” the decision taken by Ireland to try to overturn Westminster legislation at the European Court of Human Rights.
Military veterans along with senior Tory MPs joined the chorus of outrage, accusing the Irish of meddling in British politics in trying to overturn UK statute.
In a near-unprecedented legal action, Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, insisted he was left with “no option” but to mount an interstate lawsuit, lodged with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The only other time Ireland has taken such a legal course was more than 50 years ago, in 1971.
The legal action has plunged London and Dublin into a bitter diplomatic row while threatening to open up hundreds of former soldiers to historical prosecutions.
Senior Whitehall sources accused Ireland of gross hypocrisy in complaining that the UK was trying to curtail legal actions, claiming Dublin had failed to bring a single prosecution for serious crimes committed during the Troubles since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998.
One senior government source said: “Ireland needs to back off. The Irish Government, Sinn Fein and Joe Biden are all cut from the same cloth. But we are not going to climb down over this. We are confident we will win.”
Ireland’s decision also led to renewed calls by the Right of the Conservative Party for the UK Government to reconsider its membership of the European Convention on Human Rights, a move that Rishi Sunak has tried to stave off while he tries to force through his Rwanda Bill.
Ireland – with the blessing of Mr Biden – has launched its court case to try to overturn the Northern Ireland Troubles Act, which effectively prevents prosecutions for serious crimes of soldiers as well as paramilitaries on both sides. The law, promised in the Tories’ manifesto, gives an amnesty to all suspects provided they take part in an Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, night, Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said: “The UK Government profoundly regrets the decision taken by the Irish government today to bring this unnecessary case against the UK.”
He said the decision was particularly ill-judged because “it comes at a particularly sensitive time in Northern Ireland” while UK courts were already deciding whether the act breached human rights laws.
Mr Heaton-Harris added: “The UK Government urged the Irish government, before considering action, to engage directly with the commission… It is a matter of considerable regret that it has chosen not to do so.”
In a personal attack, he also questioned the insistence of Micheál Martin, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, that victims of the Troubles should achieve justice in the courts.
Mr Heaton-Harris said: “They have been critical about our proposed approach on the grounds that it moves away from a focus on criminal prosecutions. We believe that the Irish government’s stated position on dealing with legacy issues is inconsistent and hard to reconcile with its own record.”
He said Ireland had made no “concerted or sustained attempt” to pursue its own criminal investigations, and called on Dublin to “urgently clarify the number of criminal prosecutions brought in Ireland since 1998” when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. The UK Government, he said, would “continue robustly to defend the legislation” and accused the Irish authorities of bringing a “misguided action”.
Mark Francois, chairman of the ERG group of Tory MPs, who also campaigned for the legislation to protect veterans, said: “Who actually runs this damn country? Is it the democratically elected Government, chosen from Parliament or an unelected, unaccountable foreign court?
“This legislation, which took many years of campaigning to achieve and which was then exhaustively debated, for around a year between both Houses, cannot possibly be allowed to be then overturned by an appeal to an activist foreign court. If it is, this should become a real issue at the forthcoming general election.”
Foreign court ‘meddling’
Jonathan Gullis, a former Tory minister said: “It would be completely wrong for the ECHR to interfere in any way with this legislation. I hope it will be immediately rejected. If not, this only goes to show why we, the UK, must withdraw from the ECHR to stop foreign courts meddling in our legislation.”
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, which like Sinn Fein and the other major Northern Irish political parties, opposes any amnesty for Troubles-era killers, said the Government’s statement was “unusually strong”.
He said it “calls out the double standards of the Irish Government who themselves have been operating a de facto amnesty for years and have failed to put in place any meaningful legacy process to deal with murders committed in their jurisdiction.’’
“These include Garda, Irish Army and Prison Officers cut down in cold blood as well as innocent victims murdered by the IRA using southern territory from which to launch attacks into Northern Ireland,” Sir Jeffrey added on social media.
Hundreds of ex-British military and police officers could face prosecutions over historical crimes, including murder, if the Troubles Act is overturned. The Act provides an effective amnesty for paramilitaries as well and Whitehall sources say that few if any of these will be dragged through the courts because of a lack of evidence. However, military and police files leave British troops and police officers vulnerable to prosecutions, despite some alleged offences having taken place as much as half a century or more ago.
One former RUC officer, who has been investigated five times over the shooting of an IRA commander in 1991, said he feared a fresh investigation if the European court sided with Dublin.
The officer, now in his 60s, said: “I was living in total obscurity and I was quite happy but in the last few years following new inquiries it has really affected my emotional and mental health. I didn’t do anything wrong. This act has put a stop to fresh investigations but now I’m deeply concerned they could start again.”
General Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff, said: “This legacy Bill was passed by the authority of the Westminster parliament and covers Britain and Northern Ireland and it is a matter for our Government to pass legislation. I am fully aware that the Irish government and the US government don’t like it. We can listen to their concerns but it is not for them to take the UK government to the ECHR.”
The Act was introduced in the wake of criticism about after high-profile trials of British veterans – aged in their 70s and 80s – who were taken to court in Belfast. It also ends a series of inquests being brought over historical deaths.
But Mr Varadkar said his government had been left with “no option” but to bring the interstate legal case. He said the “strong” legal advice was that the UK Legacy Act breached the UN Convention on Human Rights.
A number of victims of the Troubles are supporting a separate legal challenge in Belfast High Court.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said: “It is something that we’re genuinely doing with a sense of regret, and would prefer not to be in this position, but we did make a commitment to survivors in Northern Ireland and to the families of victims that we would stand by them, respect their wishes and also stand by the Good Friday Agreement, which specifically references the European Convention on Human Rights.”
He added: “The UK Government decided for their own reasons, and of course they have the right to do this, to go down a different path… But we don’t agree with that.” (Source: Daily Telegraph)
21 Dec 23. HM Armed Forces Veteran Cards will officially launch in the New Year following a successful assessment from the Central Digital and Data Office.
The Ministry of Defence and Office for Veterans’ Affairs are jointly delivering this commitment as part of ongoing improvements to veterans support.
The Ministry of Defence has been working closely with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and Government Digital Services to develop a new digital service to enable veterans who left the Armed Forces prior to December 2018 to verify their veteran status and receive a Veteran Card in the post.
Veteran Cards have two primary functions: to ensure that veterans can quickly verify their status to access public and charitable sector support if they need it and to provide a recognition of service in the Armed Forces.
The service will officially launch by the end of January 2024 following a successful assessment from the Central Digital and Data Office, with updates on this to follow.
Further details of the application process will be available soon.
Veterans can apply for their cards by emailing , including your name, year of birth, and year you left your service. You’ll then receive an email invitation to apply for your card. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
————————————————————————-
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. In 2020, our teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, the currently serving (both regulars and reserves), veterans from the Second World War and those who have served in more recent conflicts, as well as their families. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us
————————————————————————