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Our Armed Services must be fairly treated




After years of service in defence of his Queen and country, the former Paratrooper now known only as ‘Soldier F’ faces murder charges for alleged crimes committed during the Northern Irish ‘troubles’.

No one can be certain, of course, about the particular circumstances surrounding this soldier, nor the relevant events, but many see the approach of Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service as further evidence of the disregard with which some in power hold the service and sacrifices of our Armed Forces.

It is difficult to imagine how intense the pressure must have been for British soldiers on the streets of Northern Ireland – confronted daily by the horror of Republican terror. Indeed, former paratroopers have testified to the fear felt by their men that some of a 30,000 strong crowd of protesters would attack them.

Two police officers had been murdered by the IRA just days before the Bloody Sunday protests. An official public inquiry into the day’s events, chaired by then Lord Chief Justice John Widgery, exonerated the soldiers, concluding that there were strong suspicions that some of the demonstrators had been firing weapons and handling bombs that very day.

In the 47 years since, former serviceman have lived in fear of retrospective prosecution, designed, in part, to appease the interests of those determined to diminish our nation’s place in history.

Contrast the treatment of brave members of our Armed Forces with Mr Blair’s shameful, secret deal with the IRA, whereby ‘mercy pardons’ were given to escaped IRA prisoners, allowing them to return to lives of comfort.

Two hundred IRA fighters, linked to 300 murders, were issued with ‘comfort letters’, reassuring them that they would not be prosecuted for their crimes. Victims of IRA violence only became aware of this extraordinary deal when the trial against John Downey, accused of murdering four soldiers with a nail bomb, collapsed following revelations he had been sent a comfort letter by mistake.

One of my colleagues recently asked the Prime Minister to reassure his son, currently serving in the Royal Artillery, that: ‘when he goes on an operational tour, which he is very keen to do, if something goes wrong, officers lose control of the situation and terrible mistakes are made, in 50 years’ time he will not be dragged out of bed at six in the morning, taken to a police station, questioned and then charged with murder’?

In response, the Prime Minister offered reassurance that the Government is ‘looking constantly to make sure that we can give maximum confidence to our brave servicemen and women, who, day in, day out put their lives on the line for us’.

She is right. Surely, if we cannot guarantee the protection of our soldiers in the line of duty, how can we expect them to fight for us? In this spirit, I think of my father who played his part in the Second World War, fighting Nazi Germany for six years. At El Alamein, Anzio and Monte Cassino, he witnessed countless horrors and learned that war is not a game, for there is no referee.

What is right must always come before what’s easy. We must immediately reaffirm our commitment to our soldiers, refusing to abandon victims of heinous terror, resisting the liberal establishment who are ashamed of our nation and seem desperate to punish those who have fought on our behalf.

A renewed commitment to establishing who is responsible for the murder of 21 innocent people in the Birmingham pub bombings should be an urgent priority. Chris Mullin, the former Labour MP must be prosecuted if he continues to cite ‘journalist ethics’ as an excuse for a refusal to name any of the living suspects known to him.

I welcome our Conservative Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson’s commitment to ‘drive through a new package of safeguards to ensure our armed forces are not unfairly treated’. Every man who has ever fought against our enemies is and will forever be a Great British hero.

For those that gave so much long ago in our defence, the least we can do now is come to theirs.



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