Northern Ireland Veterans: Prosecution Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Northern Ireland Office
Rachel Gilmour
Main Page: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)Department Debates - View all Rachel Gilmour's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(1 day, 19 hours ago)
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Louise Jones
All I have heard is a very strong defence of the Act as it currently stands. I more than welcome a discussion about how we can move forward and repair what several Members have already said are the inadequacies in the current Act. That is the key point: there are inadequacies in the current Act.
Louise Jones
I will make a little progress, and then I will.
The hard truth to acknowledge here, as others already have and others no doubt will, is that a very small number of military colleagues did commit a crime. None the less, it is a central belief of mine that it does not matter who you are or what you do, you should be held accountable without fear or favour if you commit a crime. That is a hard truth. I know that every single veteran here would say that any person who has been a member of the military and committed a crime should be held to account.
Louise Jones
I will give way to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour), if she would like to jump in.
Rachel Gilmour
This is a deeply sensitive debate. Two of my brothers served as officers in Northern Ireland, and the memory of Operation Banner has been raised time and again by many of my constituents. The truth is that many of the soldiers in Northern Ireland were young lads from working-class communities sent by their Government and deployed to areas not dissimilar to those they had grown up in. They found themselves operating in some of the most stressful scenarios imaginable.
I had a meeting with the Minister for Veterans an hour ago; does the hon. Lady with me and with him that we must focus on the orders that were given higher up the chain of command rather than pursuing non-commissioned veterans in their old age? Does she also agree that there is a desperate need for reform to ensure that avenues to justice for bereaved families are reopened and that all armed forces personnel are treated with dignity and understanding of the complexities of their experiences?
David Mundell (in the Chair)
Order. The hon. Lady made important points, but interventions must be short.