Yesterday, the Government brought the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, (Remedial) Order 2025 before the House of Commons.
I, along with my Conservative colleagues, voted decisively against this Remedial Order. It tears up the conditional immunity that protects veterans from prosecution and reopens the door for former service personnel to be hauled before the courts decades after they served their country. This is not about justice or reconciliation. It is about exposing veterans to endless and vexatious legal action for events that took place in the most dangerous and complex circumstances imaginable decades ago.
Despite our opposition, the Government succeeded in forcing the Remedial Order through the Commons and it will now pass to the House of Lords for further consideration.
What is increasingly clear, however, is that even Labour MPs are uneasy with what their Government is doing. More than 100 Labour MPs failed to back the Prime Minister on this vote. That is a significant rebellion by any measure and it underlines just how ill judged this policy is. Labour has chosen to dismantle the protections that Conservatives put in place to defend veterans from being endlessly pursued through the courts. This decision sends a deeply troubling message to those who have served, and to those considering service today. Instead of backing our armed forces, Labour has chosen to reopen old wounds and drag veterans back into the past.
That is not a choice I accept. The Shadow Defence team and I will continue to oppose this reckless attempt to undermine the protections afforded to our veterans. We will keep fighting to defend those who defended us, and we will not stop standing up for the men and women who put their lives on the line for this country.
