VETERANS DESERVE RESPECT, NOT REPEATED INVESTIGATIONS.

Labour's New legal safeguards will give them the fairness they deserve.

I know just how much this will mean to veterans and their families across our community.

For too long, former Armed Forces personnel and police officers who served honourably during the Troubles have faced uncertainty and the fear of being drawn repeatedly back into historic processes. It is something I have raised at the highest levels of Government.

Today, this Labour Government has tabled major amendments to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill which will put stronger, permanent protections for veterans into law.

They include a clear legal recognition that there is no equivalence between those who served our country and terrorists. The unique and exceptionally difficult circumstances faced by soldiers on the frontline, including split-second decisions made under pressure, will have to be properly considered.

The changes will also help prevent “rinse and repeat” investigations. Serious Troubles-related prosecutions will require the independent consent of the Attorney General, and veterans cannot simply be approached without compelling new evidence or a realistic prospect that they can provide new information.

Veterans will have protections against cold-calling, rights to remote attendance and anonymity where appropriate, and safeguards to ensure they are treated with fairness, dignity and respect.

This is about getting the balance right: helping families, including the families of those who served, seek answers, while ensuring the people sent to protect law and order are never treated as equivalent to those who carried out terrorism.

More than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces served during Operation Banner. They deserve respect, recognition and a duty of care that is written into law.