British Army veterans of Northern Ireland Troubles march on Westminster

Veterans who served in the British Army during the Northern Ireland troubles have marched on Parliament calling for the retention of the Legacy Act.

It comes as the current Labour Government is to repeal The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

The Act, introduced by the former Conservative Government, halted scores of civil cases and inquests and proposed conditional immunity for perpetrators of Troubles crimes in exchange for their co-operation with a new truth recovery body.

Previously a number of British Army veterans had been pursued in the courts over incidents which happened during the Troubles.

The Act was opposed by victims’ groups in Northern Ireland and all the main political parties at Stormont.

The Irish Government was also vehemently opposed to it and in 2023 initiated an interstate legal case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The case remains active, with ministers in Dublin wanting to see how Labour resolves its concerns over the legislation before any decision is taken to withdraw the action.

In December, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said in the House of Commons that he was laying a “remedial order” which would formally remove the conditional immunity clause from the Act and the ban on new civil actions that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, set up by the Act, is continuing to operate.

On Wednesday, veterans marched along Whitehall in the capital to Parliament on Wednesday urging the Labour Government to retain the Act.

They walked in a group, many wearing army caps, and holding a banner which read, “Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans: If they won’t listen, we will shout louder”.

Paul Young, the national spokesman for the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, said the removal of the Act has “put anxiety back into elderly veterans”.

Mr Young said: “When the Legacy Act was passed, many old veterans like myself, that were up through the Troubles, were able to relax, felt that things were going to get better,” he said.

“With a single stroke, the Labour Party have put anxiety back into elderly veterans that fought in Northern Ireland during that period, and we’re back to square one.”

Geoff Butler, 71, added: “The Labour Government is throwing us to the wolves.”