The Iriish Government was yesterday accused of “hypocrisy” after beginning legal action against the UK’s efforts to end Troubles-era court cases.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar had said his government was left with “no option” but to legally challenge the UK Government over the Legacy Act.
The Taoiseach said the “strong” legal advice was that the legislation breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
But the move has prompted fury within Whitehall, with the Government set to defend the legislation designed to end vexatious claims against former British Army troops decades after alleged incidents occurred.
Colonel James Sunderland, who is now a Conservative MP, said: “We’ve got many, many examples of veterans over the years being hounded by the courts in Northern Ireland, brought back to court rooms living in fear, waiting for the next knock at the door.
“The promise was made to stop the cycle of vexatious claims against veterans that’s now been delivered. That’s a good thing. Let’s move on.
“But what’s clear for me is that actually there’s an element of hypocrisy here because the Irish government’s own record in this since 1998 is pretty woeful.
“Indeed, the Secretary of State asked the Irish government today, how many prosecutions they’ve successfully brought since the Good Friday Agreement? I think the answer is very few.”
Colonel Sunderland said Britain had used Brexit freedoms to protect British troops from legal claims decades after the alleged offences occurred.
Johnny Mercer, the Veterans’ Minister, previously told the Daily Express that the Government must protect those who fought “for our way of life”.
The new legislation ends Troubles-era court cases and inquests.
It also offers a conditional amnesty to those accused of killings and other Troubles-related crimes. Ministers have offered a concession which will delay the beginning of the amnesty until May next year.
The amnesty, which will spare both former soldiers and terrorists, has been condemned by all the major political parties in Northern Ireland.
The Bill will also establish a new body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which would take over legacy cases.
Colonel Sunderland added: “We’ve seen this time and time again. We’ve seen this with a cycle of vexatious complaints. We’re seeing it with the Rwanda bill at the moment. We are seeing the difficulties of having left the European Union.
“What’s interesting, of course, is that the Irish government’s has criticized the British government, quote, ‘unilaterally passing legislation.’
“The UK is a sovereign country. We’ve left the European Union. One of the beauties of Brexit is that we can now pass our own laws that determine our own future. And that’s something that clearly the Irish government doesn’t like.
“But the beauty of Brexit is that we’ve now got the ability to tackle things that we couldn’t before whilst a member of the European Union.
“I think it is important that communities in Northern Ireland try and move on. We’ve seen very few prosecutions over the years. The Good Friday Agreement is very successful.
“And quite clearly, cases aren’t being brought to court because of the lack of evidence and what we’ve now got is a framework through this thing called the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery whereby we can now get the information that we seek.”
Colonel Sunderland said Britain had used Brexit freedoms to protect British troops from legal claims decades after the alleged offences occurred.
Johnny Mercer, the Veterans’ Minister, previously told the Daily Express that the Government must protect those who fought “for our way of life”.
The new legislation ends Troubles-era court cases and inquests.
It also offers a conditional amnesty to those accused of killings and other Troubles-related crimes. Ministers have offered a concession which will delay the beginning of the amnesty until May next year.
The amnesty, which will spare both former soldiers and terrorists, has been condemned by all the major political parties in Northern Ireland.
