Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 24 May 2021, Official Report, Column 16, if he will publish the statistical evidential basis for Northern Ireland veterans having been subject to vexatious claims and prosecutions; and how (a) vexatious claims and (b) vexatious prosecutions are defined in his Department's analysis.

It is clear that the current system for addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland's past is not working well for anybody, most importantly victims and survivors. If our focus remains on achieving criminal justice outcomes, we will fail almost every family, as well as wider society. We have therefore put forward bold proposals which focus on information recovery and reconciliation, measures which are most likely to produce tangible benefits for victims and wider society, to effectively address legacy issues and help Northern Ireland to look to the future. The Northern Ireland Office Command Paper of July 2021 sets out some relevant statistics that have informed this proposed approach.