As the Conservative leadership enters the final straight both candidates appear to be branching away from Brexit. The front runner Boris Johnson has today promised to end ‘unfair’ retrospective prosecutions of Army veterans, particularly ones who served in Northern Ireland. Boris Johnson’s pledge has seen him join fellow contender Jeremy Hunt in backing a public campaign supporting soldiers who served during the Troubles. Many sections of the mainstream media such as The Sun have run public campaigns to back the British veterans.
This is a policy that is likely to unite the Conservative party as many Conservative MP’s Such as Jonny Mercer a fellow Vet himself, have been vocal on this issue. It is widely reported that the government has already been working on legislation to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Boris Johnson has even reportedly promised to appoint a veterans minister if he becomes Britain’s next Prime Minister. Mr Johnson stated “We need to end unfair trials of people who served their Queen and country when no new evidence has been produced and when the accusations have already been exhaustively questioned in court,” he told the Sun newspaper, “We must protect people against unfair prosecutions. And I will.”
Whilst this was widely welcomed across the UK, not all have praised this pledge. The Sinn Féin legacy spokesperson Linda Dillon has gone on record saying that Boris Johnson was “backing a campaign which is about giving these soldiers immunity from prosecution. His comments are a reckless and a highly offensive attack on the rights of victims of the conflict in their search for truth and justice and flies in the face of the views expressed in a public consultation on dealing with the legacy of the past.”
The treatment of veterans has become a topical subject particularly after the case of ‘Soldier F’, who has been charged accused of unlawfully killing of two protesters on Bloody Sunday in 1972. Some suggest that an amnesty should be in place for incidents with that occurred a considerable time ago. However, just Last week the Northern Ireland Office published responses to its consultation, which showed a “clear majority” of respondents felt an amnesty for Troubles-related matters would be inappropriate. Mr Johnson’s exact policy on this issue still remains unclear.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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