Investigations into the deaths of more than 200 British soldiers were halted by the Conservatives’ Northern Ireland Legacy Act, Labour will announce, as a justification for its intention to repeal the legislation.
Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is expected to tell MPs on Monday afternoon that 202 live inquiries into the Troubles-related killings of members of the armed forces were brought to a stop in May 2024 and a further 23 involving veterans.
They include the case of Pte Tony Harrison, a paratrooper from London who was shot five times in the back and killed by the IRA in 1991 while watching television with his girlfriend. His murder has never been solved.
Andy Seaman, his brother, said he wanted to see Labour spell out how cases such as that of Harrison would be investigated once the Legacy Act was repealed – and hit out at the Conservatives for halting the murder inquiry in the first place.
“My brother’s case was shut down when the Legacy Act passed. The opposition cannot pretend to care about the plight of victims’ families – including military victims – when their actions demonstrate the precise opposite,” he said.
At the same time, another group of military veterans, in association with the Conservatives, are expected to stage a protest in Whitehall – fearing Labour’s plans will reopen the possibility of more prosecutions against army veterans.
Conservatives sources said they believe the issue is a concern for “red wall” voters in traditionally Labour-supporting working-class areas in Great Britain. Last week, Mark Francois, a shadow junior defence minister, accused Labour of “selling veterans down the river” with its plans.
More than 170,000 people signed a petition backed by Francois, demanding Labour not make any changes to the law that would allow Northern Ireland veterans to be prosecuted – a level which means the subject has to be debated by MPs.
The debate is due to happen at Westminster Hall at 4.30pm with Benn responding for the government, demonstrating the significance of the issue. Normally, only junior ministers reply to debates in the lesser chamber.
The previous government’s aim was to end what it said were vexatious prosecutions against British army veterans. To do so, it passed the Legacy Act halting all but the most serious allegations involving Troubles-related cases, including killings by paramilitaries, from being investigated any further.
Backlogs dating back decades mean there was never a police or coroner’s investigation into a wide range of deaths during the Troubles – but the plan to halt almost all inquiries was met with opposition from both nationalist and unionist parties in Northern Ireland and the families of those affected.
Emma Norton, the director of the Centre for Military Justice, who represents Pte Harrison’s family, said concerns about veterans being prosecuted were exaggerated, and there had only been “a single conviction of a veteran since the Good Friday agreement” in 1998.
In September, the trial is due to begin of Soldier F, a former paratrooper, accused of two murders and five attempted murders on Bloody Sunday in 1972. Soldiers from the regiment fired on a peaceful civil rights demonstration in Derry, killing 13.
A government source said the Legacy Act passed by the Conservatives “made false and undeliverable promises to our veterans about immunity” and blocked investigations into the unsolved killings of British troops in Northern Ireland.
“That is why the Legacy Act was opposed by many, including armed forces families who lost relatives serving in Northern Ireland. Any incoming government would have had to fix it,” they added.
