The Beckenham MP says veterans have been mistreated.
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The Government should be “ashamed” of its treatment of Northern Ireland veterans, a south London MP has told Parliament.
Bob Stewart, Conservative MP for Beckenham says veterans need better protection from prosecution for events they had previously been investigated and cleared of.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he said, “As an ex-soldier and now a Member of Parliament, I am ashamed. Ashamed that my Government has not sorted this matter out.”
Mr Stewart was a senior officer in the British Army, serving in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and then leading the UK’s forces in the Bosnian War in the early 1990s.
Addressing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, Mr Stewart asked, “how much longer before this can be sorted out, and are you not ashamed?”
Minister of State in Northern Ireland, John Pensorse, replied, “I suspect this is something which successive governments need to share some blame for failing to fix over many years and it is clearly a situation which cannot be allowed to continue.
“It is not right, it is not just, and it must be sorted out as promptly as we can.”
Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has previously said veterans who served abroad would have an amnesty for “battle crimes”.
However, she also said that soldiers who served in Northern Ireland were the exception to this rule.
Consequently, she was asked to give an statement to Parliament on what is being done to protect Northern Ireland veterans from prosecutions.
Instead, a written statement on the issue was published by the Ministry of Defence.
DUP defence spokesman Gavin Robinson said, “We should hang our head in shame that we intend to treat service personnel who served in Northern Ireland differently from those who served overseas.”
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HeadlineLondon Tory MP ‘ashamed’ at treatment of Northern Ireland veterans
Short HeadlineMP 'ashamed' at treatment of Northern Ireland veterans
StandfirstConservative MP Bob Stewart calls for better protection for Northern Ireland veterans.
The Government should be “ashamed” of its treatment of Northern Ireland veterans, a south London MP has told Parliament.
Bob Stewart, Conservative MP for Beckenham says veterans need better protection from prosecution for events they had previously been investigated and cleared of.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he said, “As an ex-soldier and now a Member of Parliament, I am ashamed. Ashamed that my Government has not sorted this matter out.”
Mr Stewart was a senior officer in the British Army, serving in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and then leading the UK’s forces in the Bosnian War in the early 1990s.
Addressing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, Mr Stewart asked, “how much longer before this can be sorted out, and are you not ashamed?”
Minister of State in Northern Ireland, John Pensorse, replied, “I suspect this is something which successive governments need to share some blame for failing to fix over many years and it is clearly a situation which cannot be allowed to continue.
“It is not right, it is not just, and it must be sorted out as promptly as we can.”
Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has previously said veterans who served abroad would have an amnesty for “battle crimes”.
However, she also said that soldiers who served in Northern Ireland were the exception to this rule.
Consequently, she was asked to give an statement to Parliament on what is being done to protect Northern Ireland veterans from prosecutions.
Instead, a written statement on the issue was published by the Ministry of Defence.
DUP defence spokesman Gavin Robinson said, “We should hang our head in shame that we intend to treat service personnel who served in Northern Ireland differently from those who served overseas.”
