Armed forces minister ‘does not get’ Labour's legacy proposals for veterans says Doug Beattie

UUP MLA and ex-soldier Doug Beattie said that MoD minister Mr Carns “simply does not understand what is being proposed”, after he came out in defence of the government’s “six protections for veterans”.

The “six protections” have been the subject of criticism in the News Letter over the last week or so, after the government admitted that many of them are not in fact exclusive to veterans – opening up the possibility that former paramilitaries could avail of them too.

Among those criticising them has been Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone, who accused the government of having “oversold” them to the veterans community.

In response to that criticism, Mr Carns (himself a former Royal Marine) said: “We promised our veterans who served with honour in Northern Ireland that we would put proper protections in place, and our legislation delivers on that commitment.

“After the false promises of the last government, we are putting in place six real, workable protections for veterans that the failed Legacy Act never did.

"We will not allow the process, like so many times before, to become the punishment for our veterans.

“Having served for 24 years and as a serving reservist myself, I understand the importance of avoiding an endless cycle of investigations.

"These robust safeguards will ensure the rights of those who served their nation so honourably are protected whilst providing families with a fair and transparent system to seek answers."

Now, in response, Mr Beattie has told the News Letter: “Al Carns DSO OBE MC MP is a highly decorated former army officers with 24 years of exemplary service and who is respected by the veterans community.

“However, the reality is that he simply does not understand what is being proposed within the Legacy Bill regarding veterans.

“The ‘six protections’ are open to interpretation by various legal bodies; unless the minister agrees that the protection from repeated investigations includes a clause which says there must be ‘new and compelling evidence’ to initiate another investigation, then the PPS can use whatever metric they want to initiate investigations.”

He went on to add: “How about soldiers and their families living in Northern Ireland? Will our legal system here, devolved from the rest of the UK, be blocked from compelling them to give evidence in person if they are not the one on trial?

“Welfare support is great, I expect nothing less, and the right to have your voice heard [one of the “six protections”] is what veterans have right now.

“That voice is saying that this deception of six protections is nothing more than smoke and mirrors and will likely apply to terrorists and other perpetrators.

“Al Carns MP understands the seven questions process, or Combat Estimate [a tool used for military planning].

"If he applied them, he would know that the Northern Ireland Office are spinning him a tall tale of what can and cannot be achieved with the ‘six protections’.”

The six measures were revealed by the government on September 19 in an announcement titled “Six new protections, rights and safeguards for Northern Ireland veterans”.

Listed beneath the heading “your protections as a veteran” were the following:

Firstly, that "you cannot be forced to travel to or around Northern Ireland to give evidence as a witness to the commission or to an inquest”.

Point two was that “the Legacy Commission won’t needlessly duplicate previous investigative work you may have already participated in” and “you won’t need to explain historical context that’s already known”.

Three was that “your health and well-being will be taken into account”; four was that “you can request anonymity when giving evidence”; and five was “protection from cold calling … you’ll only be contacted through official channels, with MoD support”.

Lastly, veterans’ representatives (plural) will be among those sitting on the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group “to ensure your perspectives are considered”.

Since then, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent of the Northern Ireland Office has said that whilst all of these are "to protect and ensure fair treatment of any veteran… measures set out in the legislation, including the right to give evidence remotely and having regard to the welfare of witnesses, will necessarily apply to others”.

She added: “This will ensure, for example, that former police officers are able to avail of these measures.

“Some other non-legislative measures will apply only to veterans, including the protection from cold calling and the new safeguard that ensures veterans do not have to give unnecessary evidence on historical context and general operational details.”

RECENT TIMELINE OF SAGA:

All of this is part of an overhaul by the Labour government of the Tories’ Legacy Act, passed in September 2023.

It halted all civil cases and inquests into Troubles incidents, and also said that “no criminal investigation of any Troubles-related offence may be continued or begun" after the act took effect (with the Troubles being defined as spanning from 1966 until April 10, 1998).

However, the Legacy Act also created the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, or ICRIR, which would take evidence from perpetrators about crimes they were involved in.

The perpetrator would be granted immunity from prosecution over any of the new information they gave as long as the commission was satisfied that their account “is true to the best of [the perpetrator’s] knowledge and belief”, according to the wording of the act.

In February 2024, the act’s immunity provision was declared incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights by the High Court in Belfast, and therefore unlawful.

Then in July 2024, a Labour government came into power, pledging to overhaul these arrangements.

In September 2025, in a joint announcement with the Irish government, it said it would end the immunity scheme, reopen civil cases and inquests, and turn ICRIR into the Legacy Commission.

This will be advised by a "victims and survivors panel" and "will be tasked with carrying out investigations and exploring all relevant investigative leads" and "these investigations will be capable of leading to prosecutions where there is evidence of wrong-doing", said the two governments.

In October 2025, the UK government – via the NIO – unveiled its Northern Ireland Troubles Bill to accomplish this, alongside the "six protections".