debates/debates2025-07-09c conversation_14
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-07-09c conversation_14

David Davis:With permission, Mr Speaker, before I ask my question, may I tell the House that there are a number of veterans of Northern Ireland in the Public Gallery? Given what the Prime Minister said about 7/7, I would like to publicly thank them for their courage in defending our country and our democracy against the first scourge of terrorism.

The Prime Minister knows that every time a paramilitary was killed in Northern Ireland by a British soldier, it triggered a thorough investigation. No bullet went unscrutinised. Our soldiers were held to the highest standards of law. The IRA were not; they tortured, shot men in the back, forced families to watch their menfolk being murdered, and killed women and children with  bombs, yet we are willing to prosecute our own men, who were forced to make life-and-death decisions in split seconds.

If the Government get the legacy legislation wrong, at least 50 innocent retired veterans will be exposed to legal persecution for crimes they did not commit. I have raised this matter six times since February. I ask again: on Monday, when we debate this matter in Westminster Hall, will the Government protect our veterans, or will they sacrifice them to politically motivated lawyers who are trying to rewrite history with a pack of lies? \p Keir Starmer: May I join the right hon. Gentleman in thanking the veterans here today, and all veterans? He knows that this is a serious issue, and the end of his question did not really reflect that seriousness. The scheme set up by the Conservative party was found to be unlawful in the courts, and he knows it. It was not supported by communities. It would have meant, as he knows, immunity from prosecution for those who committed the most appalling terrorist crimes, and that is why it did not have support in the communities or from any political party in Northern Ireland. That was among the reasons it was found to be unlawful.

We have to tread carefully, and we have to get this right. I will work with the right hon. Gentleman on that, but we do not get there by cheapening the debate. [Interruption.] This is not about political point-scoring. I have worked in Northern Ireland, I have spoken to many of the people affected, and I know that we must get this right. I want to do so, and I want the House to do that together, if we possibly can, because it matters; but we have to do this in a serious way, and address the issues of the past in a way that has the support of victims and survivors. That is a key test for me, because without their support, it is very hard to come up with something that will have the confidence of everybody in Northern Ireland. That is why we have to work in this way.

In advance of the new legislation, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland continues to engage with veterans and their communities to ensure that legacy mechanisms are fair, lawful and proportionate. I will continue to work with the right hon. Gentleman and others in the House, because the most important thing is not scoring points, but getting it right.