Clonoe Inquest

Baroness O'Loan Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his service as a politician in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and for what he continues to do in support of delivering justice for those who were touched by the Troubles, and of protecting service personnel. The noble Lord knows that I am an honorary captain in the Royal Navy and consider myself part of the military family. I definitely do not support a rewriting of the past and neither do this Government. I will always stand with our Armed Forces. The MoD is currently reflecting on the coroner’s verdict and it will come forward in due course.

On protecting veterans, they are a core part of the stakeholder community that we are engaging with in delivering the primary legislation, which should be forthcoming. I am part of that engagement process and was in Northern Ireland last week to engage. We will endeavour to do everything, working with them and the new Northern Ireland Armed Forces commissioner, to make sure that they have the appropriate support where needed.

[Baroness O'Loan (CB)]

My Lords—

[Lord Robathan (Con)]

I think we have just had one of them.

The current situation is that soldiers will not be willing to serve. Does the Minister understand that? We must get protection from the Government for soldiers—who are sent out by this place, this Parliament, to detect what is going on—unless they have done something appallingly wrong, which they have not on this occasion.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, we are very clear about the retention and recruitment challenges that the Armed Forces have had. We saw that during the previous Administration, and the noble Lord and I have sat in many debates discussing it. Our Armed Forces run towards bombs. That is what they did in the Troubles: they put themselves between terrorists and civilians and we will be forever grateful for their service. We will work with veterans’ communities to ensure that the primary legislation, when we bring it forward, reflects their needs as well as those of every other part of the community.

[Baroness O'Loan (CB)]

My Lords, I alert the noble Lord, Lord Robathan, to the fact that the noble Lord, Lord McCrea, is a DUP Peer.

I speak as a victim of the IRA and condemn unequivocally every atrocity that happened everywhere. As the Minister will agree, the security forces had a well-planned, intelligence-led operation here. The evidence is that 20 minutes after the attack by these IRA men, they returned to the car park where the Army was waiting for them. The coroner says that the Army unleashed 570 bullets. No bullets were fired by these IRA men. I do not in any way condone what they did, but two of them were running away as they were shot in the back and they were then shot in the face by the soldiers as they lay injured. Does the Minister agree that it is fundamentally important that, wherever they are in the world, our Armed Forces behave within the rule of law and that, if we are to build a safe and stable future for Northern Ireland, it must be on the basis of the rule of law?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I stand in awe of everything that the many people in this Chamber who have been affected by terrorism, like her, continue to do to build peace.

On our Armed Forces operating within the rule of law, I am very proud of how they operate. That is not to say that there are not occasions, and the specific findings of this coroner have raised concerns on both sides of the community. The MoD is considering what they mean.