Like many others here today, I too have served in uniform. I have also practiced at the Bar. I have seen what duty looks like - in service of the nation, and in law.
And I have rarely seen a policy more myopic. More unjust. Or more ill-judged than the Government’s plan to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act.
It is not just a legal mistep. It is a moral failure.
The Legacy Act was passed to bring finality to one of the most complex, painful chapters in our history.
It was designed to close the revolving door of investigations.
To bring truth without vengeance.
And to ensure that those who served the state were not endlessly dragged back into the past.
The Government now wants to undo that.
To scrap the safeguards.
To re-open decades-old cases.
To force veterans – many now elderly, some frail – back into the legal firing line.
We cannot let that happen.
Those who served in Northern Ireland did not volunteer for war. They were sent by Parliament.
They upheld the law. They protected communities torn apart by sectarian violence. They stood, often unrecognised, between bomb and bus stop. Between child and sniper. Between chaos and peace.
Yes, they made difficult decisions. Some made mistakes. But they did so in an environment few today can understand.
And when peace came, it came because men in uniform stood firm.
Now, decades later, some of those men are being investigated again. Not because of new evidence. But because it is easier to go after a soldier than a terrorist. Because the state can be scrutinised - whilst others evade justice.
That is not a system of law. That is a betrayal.
I know what it means to follow orders. I know what it means to carry responsibility. And I know what it means to place trust in the country you serve.
The Legacy Act was a signal that that trust still mattered. That veterans would no longer be used as political pawns in a war long ended. That fairness would finally replace fear.
The Government’s repeal threatens to undo all of that. It would tear up legal certainty. It would hand power back to those who wish to re-fight the past. And it would say to veterans, loud and clear: your service counts for less.
We cannot allow it.
To defend the Legacy Act is to defend the bond between citizen and state. It is to say – firmly and proudly – that Britain does not forget those who served.
Let us stand by them. Let us honour them. And let us keep the peace they helped build.
