Former generals' warning over Labour government's Troubles bill 'a sobering and remarkable moment'
An open letter from nine retired generals criticising the government’s approach to the Troubles has been described as “sobering and remarkable” by a unionist MP.
The group of senior ex-officers said there is a loss of trust among troops due to "lawfare", which they defined as "the use of legal processes to fight political or ideological battles".
They also suggest this has led to personnel leaving the special forces, and attacked the government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill specifically.
They made the comments in a letter in The Times.
It comes amid much criticism of the government’s “six new protections for veterans” that have been announced alongside the bill.
The government has already admitted that many of them are not in fact exclusive to veterans – leaving open the possibility that former paramilitaries could also avail of them.
Critics have said the “protections” amount to little more than what is available now, and will not stem attempts to prosecute former soldiers.
Reflecting on the generals’ letter, TUV MP Jim Allister told the News Letter: “The intervention by nine retired generals is a remarkable and sobering moment.
"These are men who led the United Kingdom’s armed forces at the highest levels, who understand both the demands of service and the nature of the terrorist threat that gripped Northern Ireland.
"Their concern about the government’s handling of legacy issues should not be lightly dismissed.
“The central point is that the government has failed to uphold the moral distinction between those who upheld the law and those who sought to destroy it.
“The men and women who served in Northern Ireland did so under the Crown, within the law, and in defence of democracy.
"They deserve fairness and clarity – not to be endlessly hounded through politically-motivated lawfare, nor to be equated with those who set out to murder.
“The government would do well to reflect on why such senior former officers felt compelled to speak at all.“
The generals’ letter said: "Today every deployed member of the British armed forces must consider not only the enemy in front but the lawyer behind.
"The fear that lawful actions may later be judged unlawful will paralyse decision-making, distort rules of engagement and deter initiative.
"We will lose our fighting edge at exactly the moment it is most needed.
"And make no mistake, our closest allies are watching uneasily, and our enemies will be rubbing their hands."
They particularly voiced concern over the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill and the "legal activism" behind it.
"This lawfare is a direct threat to national security," they said.
The letter adds: "By extending the same protections to those who enforced the law and those who defied it, the bill becomes morally incoherent.
"It treats those who upheld the peace and those who bombed and murdered in pursuit of political ends as equivalent actors in a shared tragedy."
The generals warn that retention and morale will suffer if soldiers believe that actions that are lawful during their deployment will later be re-evaluated in "the misplaced light of hindsight" and claim that highly trained members of special forces are already leaving the service.
They urge Sir Keir Starmer and Attorney General Lord Hermer to acknowledge that "an ever-broadening interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights " is being used as a tool to this end.
The letter's nine signatories are former chiefs of the general staff Sir Peter Wall, Sir Patrick Sanders, and Sir Mark Carleton-Smith; the former chief of the air staff Sir Andrew Pulford; former deputy NATO supreme allied commanders Europe Sir Richard Shirreff and Sir Tim Radford; the former commanders of the UK's Joint Forces Command Sir Richard Barrons and Sir Chris Deverell; and a former commander-in-chief, land forces, Sir Nick Parker.
A government spokesperson said in a statement: "We promised our veterans who served with honour in Northern Ireland that we would put proper protections in place, and the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill 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."
"These robust safeguards will ensure the rights of those who served their nation so honourably are protected whilst providing victims with a human rights compliant, fair, and transparent system to seek answers."