Britain and Ireland unveil framework that could see Ulster veterans face renewed inquiries

A cross-border framework announced at Hillsborough Castle by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris ends blanket immunity for Troubles-era actions by British troops and reserve forces and outlines six protections for veterans, triggering anger among veterans and their supporters.

The agreement, the product of nine months of negotiations, follows Labour's pledge to repeal the Conservatives' 2023 Legacy Act, which halted many civil cases and inquests and offered conditional immunity for those who cooperated with a new truth-recovery body. The plan ends immunity for terrorists—policies tied to a previous era that granted protection to hundreds of pro-IRA figures—and places six protections and rights for veterans, though its overall effect is to remove the blanket shield against prosecution. Former Lance Corporal Soldier F, who is on trial for his role in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Londonderry, was charged prior to the 2023 Act.

The agreement comes as activists and lawmakers warn that veterans now in their 60s and 70s could face fresh inquiries decades after the events. Ex-SAS reservist and Tory backbencher Sir David Davis described the move as a path to “victory for the IRA,” while Paul Young, a former member of the Blues and Royals who works with the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, called the plans a “betrayal of those who served with honour during the Troubles and a distortion of justice for victims of terrorism.”

Conservative defence spokesman James Cartlidge warned that Labour’s announcement could “open the floodgates to a new wave of vexatious legal action against our veterans, threatening the Army's morale just as we face the most profound military threats since the Cold War.” The announcement arrived as veterans who hoped for an end to prosecutions over operations decades ago faced a potential new era of inquiries and civil actions.

In the background, the 2023 Legacy Act—pushed by the Conservative government and championed by veterans’ ministers at the time—had sought to curb civil cases and inquests and offered conditional immunity in exchange for cooperation with a truth-recovery process. Belfast High Court ruled the act unlawful last November, complicating the path forward for prosecutions and the truth process. The new framework seeks to replace that regime with a set of protections for veterans while scrapping blanket immunity for Troubles-era crimes and ending an immunity regime extended during the Blair era to hundreds of IRA suspects.

The timing matters because cases that could be reopened or restarted include inquiries into high-profile operations, such as a 1987 SAS mission near Loughgall when eight IRA militants were killed while attempting to prevent an attack on a police station. Proponents argue that addressing these cases through a clearer rights-based framework could provide a balanced path to accountability, while opponents say it jeopardizes victims’ pursuit of justice and rewards those who may have violated rules of engagement. A petition that gathered more than 200,000 signatures urged protecting veterans from persecution, underscoring the political sensitivity of the issue.

The cross-border agreement also drew fire from critics who see it as compromising sovereignty and eroding decades of hard-won gains for veterans. Lt Col Richard Williams, a former SAS commanding officer and Ulster veteran, said the framework represents “another hard punch in the face for the veterans and yet more sovereignty being lost,” while Sinn Fein and other Irish republican groups were cited by opponents as welcoming any move that could limit prosecutions of IRA members. Supporters of the framework emphasized the need to move beyond decades of legal wrangling and to focus on truth, reconciliation, and the welfare of veterans living with the consequences of the Troubles.