Boris Johnson: We’ll legislate against unfair armed forces prosecutions

Boris Johnson told MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions that, in light of the restoration of powersharing in Northern Ireland, “nothing in the agreement, I want to reassure the House, will stop us from going ahead with legislation”.

His comments came as Labour’s Sarah Jones (Croydon Central) called on Mr Johnson to give a straight “yes or no, whether he now supports the investigation of every single outstanding claim”.

She asked: “Can I congratulate the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and all the parties in Northern Ireland on the re-establishment of the Assembly?

“The press were briefed last year that the Prime Minister was going to bring an end to all ongoing investigations from the conflict, and he said on Monday that he wouldn’t support vexatious claims when there was no new evidence, but, of course, the Stormont agreement includes the Historical Investigations Unit and the point of all the ongoing investigations is that the original evidence has never been properly investigated.

“So will the Prime Minister today tell us, yes or no, whether he now supports the investigation of every single outstanding claim?”

Mr Johnson replied: “We will go ahead and, as I said yesterday, I think there’s a good balance that’s been struck in getting Stormont going again, between those who need truth and those who need certainty and the protection of our armed services and nothing in the agreement, I want to reassure the House, will stop us from going ahead with legislation to make sure that no-one who served in our armed forces suffers unfair prosecution, vexatious or unfair prosecution for cases that happened many years ago where no new evidence has been provided. We will legislate to ensure that that cannot happen.”

Stalled legacy mechanisms related to Troubles killings, agreed by the region’s parties as part of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, are finally set to be implemented as part of the deal to restore powersharing.

They include an independent investigation unit to establish if any prosecutorial opportunities remain, and a truth recovery body to help families find out more details about the deaths of their loved ones in cases where prosecutions are unlikely.

Mr Johnson was asked on Monday about the prospect of more veterans being prosecuted.

He stood by the Conservatives’ general election manifesto pledge to protect armed forces veterans from the 30-year conflict from unfair prosecutions without new evidence.

The Prime Minister said the Stormont parties had done a good job balancing that with giving confidence to victims of violence who are seeking answers.

Sinn Féin MP Francie Molloy responded: “It is ludicrous for the British Prime Minister to suggest that the British Crown Prosecution Service is pursuing unfair or vexatious prosecutions against former British soldiers.

“British soldiers who committed crimes in Ireland, including the murders of Irish children, cannot be above the law.

“The families of the victims of British soldiers have waited up to 50 years for truth and justice.

“That is wrong and unacceptable.

“The British government needs to end its foot-dragging and stalling and implement the mechanisms it agreed in 2014 in the Stormont House Agreement in a human rights compliant manner to deal with the legacy of the past.”

Innocent Victims United spokesman Kenny Donaldson said it is “nauseating to hear Sinn Fein trot out the same tired old lines on legacy”.

He added: “They need to get real and understand that the largest constituency of victims/survivors of terrorism will not be railroaded by a legacy process which is inwards facing towards the UK State. The current design of the structures will not hold terrorism accountable for the 90% of deaths it is responsible for; two thirds of which relate to Republican terrorists, with one third caused by loyalist terrorists”.

“Neither will we accept a process which fails to hold the Republic of Ireland State accountable for its’ actions and inaction over the years of ‘The Troubles’ which directly led to the deaths of many people. The RoI state was not a non-partisan neutral observer of events here”.

No type of overt or covert amnesty os acceptable, he said and the “gamesmanship” needs to cease from all concerned.

“The rule of law must be maintained and that relates to those who wore balaclavas but also to those who wore the uniform of the UK and also Republic of Ireland States,” he added.

“If any member of security forces is evidentially proven through due process to have committed a criminal act then they must be held accountable for the crimes committed”.

“We reiterate our support for the tens of thousands of men and women who served within the security forces, who behaved with integrity and whose selfless action – often coming at a very heavy price – prevented this place from falling into outright civil war.”