MPs’ recommendations on dealing with legacy of Troubles would mean ‘one-sided probe into past’ says security force veterans group

A security force veterans group says the security forces would “bear the brunt” of future investigations if recommendations from a Westminster committee on dealing with the past are accepted.
By Philip Bradfield
Published 28th Oct 2020, 06:30 BST
Updated 28th Oct 2020, 10:28 BST
Former soldier Mark Campbell, now spokesman for the NI Veterans Association, believes the Stormont House Agreement will facilitate a one-sided investigation of the Troubles.Former soldier Mark Campbell, now spokesman for the NI Veterans Association, believes the Stormont House Agreement will facilitate a one-sided investigation of the Troubles.
Former soldier Mark Campbell, now spokesman for the NI Veterans Association, believes the Stormont House Agreement will facilitate a one-sided investigation of the Troubles.

Since the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) in 2014, the government, DUP, Sinn Fein and SDLP continued to sell it as the means to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

However the UUP, TUV and many terror victims expressed deep concerns it would allow terrorists to rewrite their past and allow unfair judgments on police without due process.

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In March the government published new plans which would draw a line under the vast majority of Troubles killings. But this week the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC) published a report calling the plans “unhelpful” and calling on Government to urgently introduce legislation based on the SHA.

However Mark Campbell of the NI Veterans Association has now expressed deep concern.

“I am not surprised, once again the security forces would bear the brunt of this,” he said of the NIAC recommendations.

“It is simply that there is a paper trail for all actions of the security forces, but there is no such paper trail for the terrorists, be that loyalist or republican. So unless the terrorists suddenly say they will cooperate fully and give up all the files it kept, it’s just going to be the same old story; elderly soldiers and police arrested for actions in which many many cases they have already been investigated for and found not guilty.”

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But victims’ group WAVE disagreed. “Whatever issues veterans and others have with the Stormont House Agreement what was set out by the Secretary of State in March will be a de facto amnesty which will cover the vast majority of murders by republican and loyalist paramilitaries,” it said. “

“This would be a gross act of betrayal of those bereaved including the families of members of the security forces.”

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