Troubles’ veterans on both sides deserve immunity from prosecution

The recent decision by Boris Johnson’s government to put a five-year time-bar, save in exceptional circumstances, on the prosecution of British troops for crimes committed during overseas operations, came as a welcome relief to soldiers. Those who served their country abroad now know they are effectively safe from stale prosecutions in the distant future; veterans who have long since moved on can now live in peace. 

But note the word ‘overseas’. Why not everywhere? The answer is easy: the Irish elephant in the room. The government feared that any attempt to time-limit prosecutions over events during the Northern Ireland Troubles would stir a hornets’ nest. It chose instead to leave those who had served in Northern Ireland exposed for ever.

Now, though, it has finally bitten the bullet. With Boris’s backing, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has proposed a complete bar, without even an exceptional circumstances get-out, on any prosecution arising out of pre-1998 events connected with the Troubles.