Hundreds of veterans have marched outside Parliament to protest against the possible repeal of the Legacy Act.
MPs including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Mark Francois and Stuart Anderson joined former soldiers as the Act was debated inside the House of Commons on Monday.
They marched to Parliament Square in Westminster, brandishing regiment flags and Union flags, and were flanked by a motorbike procession.
The debate comes after more than 165,000 people signed a petition calling for the Government to keep the Legacy Act, which was put in place in 2023 by the former Conservative government to halt all but the most serious allegations involving Troubles-related cases from being investigated any further.
The Labour Government announced it would repeal and replace the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 following criticism over immunity for soldiers by human rights groups.
Veterans and MPs alike said they feared this would open up soldiers to being prosecuted for acts and create a “two-tier” justice system, in which IRA soldiers are given immunity but British troops are open to prosecution.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said he feared it would dissuade people from joining the Armed Forces because they could be “persecuted” further down the line.
He said: “We all know we need more people in our Army, our Navy, our Air Force.
“Fundamentally, this is about us as a country, recognising that we live in a time of heightened threat…When that is happening, we will be strengthening our Armed Forces. The last thing we want to do is be going after them again for what they did decades ago. What message is that going to send to all the young people whom we want to join the Army in future?”
Sir Iain, the former leader of the Conservative Party who served in Northern Ireland, told the PA news agency that veterans were angry about the potential changes to the legislation.
He said: “They feel they served their country. They did what they could do. They did their best. It was difficult, I can promise you now, I patrolled the streets.
“We see the pursuit of Northern Ireland veterans whose cases were heard previously and settled.
“They are the ones being pursued yet again in the courts under the arrangements and this is wrong.
“You don’t see any of the IRA being pursued.
“Right now this is a very one-sided arrangement with the British soldiers who didn’t ask to go there.”
Mr Francois, a shadow junior defence minister who backed the petition, added: “What the Government is doing is wrong.
“They’re not treating veterans who were there to uphold the law in Northern Ireland the same as they are treating alleged terrorists.
“There should be no moral equivalence between the veterans and the terrorists.”
Aldwin Wight, 72, a former special forces commanding officer who lives in Cornwall, said: “These are people we’ve served with.
“They’re very close to us, and seeing them caught up in this sort of endless doom loop of legislation is not good.
“We’re in a fairly dark situation at the moment in security terms and therefore there are going to be incidents and you’ve got to have people who are willing to step forward and take on the hard tasks.
“And you don’t want to do that as it were, with your solicitor in your pocket.
“You want to do it with a clear operational view of what you’re doing.”
Denise Walker, 58, a veteran in the catering corps, came down from Glasgow to protest.
She said: “This has led to our servicemen fearing that we’re going to be up for prosecution again.
“At the end of the day, this Government sent us over there to do a job on their behalf.
“We followed their orders to the letter.”
David Holmes, a 64-year old veteran who runs the Rolling Thunder veteran motorbike group which protested, said: “I spent years campaigning with this.
“We worked with the previous government. We found a good solution.
“People want closure, but actually to put 70 and 80-year-old soldiers in the dock for doing their job they were asked to do by the government on what is basically trumped up charges (is wrong).
“The only evidence is they were there at the time.”
Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, said: “The Legacy Act has been rejected in Northern Ireland and found by our domestic courts to be unlawful, not least because it would have offered immunity to terrorists. Any incoming government would have had to repeal unlawful legislation and it is simply wrong for anyone to suggest otherwise.
“This Government’s commitment to our Operation Banner veterans is unshakeable. Their professionalism and sacrifice saved countless lives in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom, and ultimately helped bring about peace. The Legacy Act did nothing to help our veterans – it offered only false and undeliverable promises.
“I and the Defence Secretary are engaging with our veterans community and with all interested parties over future legislation, and we will ensure that there are far better protections in place.”
