Tories demand Boris Johnson slashes powers of ‘witch-hunt’ unit in Northern Ireland which could see veterans probed
SENIOR Tories demanded Boris Johnson slashes the powers of a new ‘witch-hunt’ unit given the green light in his deal to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
They fear the Historic Investigations Unit could spark a wave of trumped-up claims against former British soldiers.
The unit was given the green light in the PM’s deal to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
But No10 has heightened fears it will go against its manifesto pledge for laws to protect veterans from vexatious claims.
The PM’s spokesman failed to rule out the unit probing all 302 deaths caused by the Armed Forces during the Troubles as a price of Sinn Fein’ returning to power-sharing.
The unit is central to the Stormont House Agreement.
'No unfair prosecutions'
Mr Johnson promised there would be “no unfair prosecutions of people who served their country where there is no new evidence to bring”.
But that would breach the current terms of the HIU set out in the Stormont House Agreement, which states that the “legacy inquests” must be “victim-centred” - meaning any of the 302 killings could be reinvestigated regardless of whether new evidence has emerged.
The Government has to find a way to meet the terms of both power sharing and the Tory manifesto pledge.
It has promised new legislation within 100 days.
A senior government source said: “No one’s pretending it’s going to be easy. We have two different commitments. We have to work our way through them.”
'Not leave this hanging'
Another insider said the main stumbling block is the Northern Ireland Office. They said: “The NIO is completely wedded with this HIU concept of investigating every single fatality.
Last night a string of Tory MPs and former servicemen called for the PM to limit the powers of the HIU. They demanded he issues an immediate formal reassurance to the thousands of Northern Ireland veterans who now face the threat of new investigations.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “The Government must act on that as a matter of priority and not leave this hanging.”
Tory MP and former British Army Officer Richard Drax said: “Any more delay is going to cause not only a frustration for veterans but frustration among MPs. This has got to be resolved and got to be resolved quickly - we can’t let this drag on anymore.”
On a visit to mark the historic return of power-sharing yesterday the PM quoted Tony Blair’s famous Good Friday Agreement speech.
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Speaking as he met the Northern Irish leaders and Irish premier Leo Varadkar in Belfast, Mr Johnson said: “It’s a great moment, never mind the hand of history on my shoulder I see the hand of the future.
“I see the hand of the future beckoning us all forward and I hope with good will and compromise and hard work on all sides it’ll be a very bright future indeed.”
But he refused to say how much money he had agreed to stump up to help persuade the parties to return power-sharing amid reports the package is worth more than £2 billion.
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