Treatment of Troubles veterans could 'help IRA achieve ends it failed to get through terrorism', former UK Armed Forces Minister Al Carns says in resignation speech
The UK’s current treatment of Troubles veterans could “help the IRA achieve ends” it failed to hit through terrorism, Labour’s former Armed Forces Minister has said.
Al Carns quit his post last week, citing the issue of elderly former soldiers being put through gruelling court cases as one of his reasons for going.
Today, in a speech in the House of Commons reinforcing his position, he took aim at “constant, never-ending legal wranglings that undermine the contract between the nation and those that serve”.
He said: “Too many veterans have carried uncertainty for too long while others have benefitted from political accommodations that were never available to those who served, and I could never reconcile that with my own understanding of duty.
“The IRA failed to achieve its political ends through the use of terrorist tactics. We must be exceptionally careful that we do not help them achieve those ends through other means."
His words have been welcomed by unionists, with DUP leader Gavin Robinson branding them “a damning indictment” of the approach to legacy cases, while the TUV’s Jim Allister argued they should make the government “stop and reflect seriously about the road they have been on”.
An Afghanistan veteran who worked his way up to the rank of colonel after joining the military at 19, Alistair Carns won a Military Cross for gallantry during his service. Elected as a Labour MP in 2024, he was rapidly appointed Veterans and People Minister before becoming Minister for the Armed Forces.
Last week he sensationally quit after less than a year in the role, criticising defence spending plans and current policy towards Troubles legacy cases as he went.
Today, he said he “could no longer ignore the continued failure to address the treatment of our veterans in Northern Ireland”.
Whatever anyone’s position on the Troubles may be, he stated, the UK “owes a duty to those sent into harm’s way under lawful orders” – one that “does not end when that uniform comes off”.
“The Labour movement was built on a simple idea,” he said. “That the people who do the hard work this country asks of them, deserve the backing of the state in return.
“Constant, never-ending legal wranglings that undermine the contract between the nation and those that serve is neither a good use of taxpaying money nor an effective execution of strategy. Inquests, inquiries and an independent commission creates a hierarchy of truth.”
His words, suggested Mr Robinson, should “carry significant weight” with the government.
“Ministers cannot simply dismiss such a serious warning from someone who has served with distinction,” he told the News Letter.
“There can be no equivalence between those who served honourably and those who waged a campaign of terror.
“Veterans deserve protection, not persecution. The government must now change course and deliver promised safeguards.”
For Mr Allister, the speech brings into focus “the scale of the government’s betrayal of those who served with honour in Northern Ireland”.
“Clearly Mr Carns has a recognition of the debt owed to those who served in uniform sadly lacking among those who remain in cabinet,” he added.
Ulster Unionist Robin Swann called on Mr Carns’ replacement to be “as resolute in their opposition to the persecution of veterans” – though he admitted he has questions over whether that will be the case.