Keir Starmer accused of surrendering British veterans of the Troubles to face legal persecution from group of ‘politically motivated lawyers’
Keir Starmer was accused of surrendering British veterans of the Troubles to ‘politically motivated lawyers who are trying to rewrite history with a pack of lies’.
During tense exchanges in the Commons, former Tory Cabinet minister Sir David Davis urged the Prime Minister to think again about the decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act, which was designed to end the witch-hunt against British veterans.
As a group of former soldiers looked on from the gallery, Sir David warned that failure to deal with the issue would leave ‘at least 50 innocent retired veterans exposed to legal persecution for crimes they did not commit’.
Sir Keir accused Sir David of ‘cheapening the debate’ and ‘political point scoring’.
Sir David shrugged off the insult, telling the Mail: ‘I’ve had responses like that from prime ministers before – it doesn’t bother me.
‘What is concerning is that he doesn’t have an answer and I think the silence from his backbenchers said it all.
‘For a government that claims to lionise people who help to defeat terrorism to then push in the way of the courts people who did even more to defeat terrorism seems a little bit inconsistent, to put it politely.’
Sir David also revealed that Sir Keir had cancelled a promised meeting with campaigners, adding: ‘He says he wants to work with people but there is no evidence of him working with us at all.’
Keir Starmer (pictured) was accused of surrendering British veterans of the Troubles to ‘politically motivated lawyers who are trying to rewrite history with a pack of lies’
Sir David Davis (pictured in April) urged the Prime Minister to think again about the decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act, which was designed to end the witch-hunt against British veterans
British troops, in foreground, clash with demonstrators in a Catholic dominated area of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in May 1981
