Editorial: Keir Starmer has put himself in a position where it is predictable that he will have to make a u-turn to protect veterans

So often can it be said of Keir Starmer that he is weak and foolish that the charge can lose its impact.

​But it does need to be said, because the prime minister’s endless u-turns prove that his initial instincts are poor.

Ruth Dudley Edwards, opposite, talks about Labour’s surrender over the Chagos Islands. This was because Sir Keir and Lord Hermer’s were so fanatical about international law that they were worried by an International Court of Justice advisory opinion that the UK must surrender the territory, when one of the judges was a Chinese official who backed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They should have treated the advice with contempt.

Today the latest example of Sir Keir’s bad judgement is with regard to so-called protections for veterans. Within hours of the UK’s legacy agreement with an Ireland that has had the audacity to sue Britain on legacy, Labour’s so-called protections for veterans were shown to be meaningless. Nationalist outrage at such protections dissipated at once, when they saw that the protections also applied to terrorists.

Now Sir Keir is implying that he strengthen the protections. But either that too will be meaningless, so as not to upset nationalists, or it will be real, in which case nationalists will be angry – sparking perhaps yet another u-turn?

Now Ireland is making clear that he cannot change protections to veterans without consulting them. This is an Ireland that Labour has allowed to evade its many responsibilities on legacy, despite the new deal with Dublin, in which it made feeble pledges.

Again we say, particularly to the Conservatives: you might well be the larger party than Reform at the next election. You need to make clear you will reverse Labour’s approach to legacy, which will merely keep the focus on ex security forces, and exempt the IRA. They had no hesitation about reversing your legacy plan.