Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when legislation will be introduced to protect soldiers from vexatious prosecutions.

The Government has delivered the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel & Veterans) Act 2021 (the Act), which delivers on the 2019 manifesto commitment to tackle the vexatious legal claims that undermine our Armed Forces.

The measures of the Act provide reassurance to our Service personnel and veterans that, where an investigation into historical allegations of wrongdoing is referred to the prosecutor for a decision on whether to prosecute, the unique circumstances of overseas operations will be taken into account in their considerations.

The Government has been clear it will introduce a separate legacy package for Northern Ireland that delivers better outcomes for victims, survivors and veterans, focuses on information recovery and reconciliation, and ends the cycle of investigations. The MOD continues to work with the NIO to ensure that the legacy package delivers on the commitments made to Northern Ireland veterans. Government is committed to bringing forward legislation as soon as possible.