CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

NIO – STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR VETERANS - 20 June 2018

NIO – STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR VETERANS - 20 June 2018

[Christian Matheson: Chester is a garrison city, and numerous constituents who have retired from the services are affected by uncertainty. I have no problem with crimes being investigated where there is evidence, but what comfort can the Secretary of State give those servicemen and ex-servicemen in my constituency who have served honourably and are living under a cloud of suspicion and uncertainty?

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Karen Bradley): Those people are living under that cloud of uncertainty under the current system, and I want to see an end to the disproportionate focus on our veterans that is happening under that current mechanism. There is widespread agreement that the current system is not working. I urge the hon. Gentleman and all his constituents to respond to the consultation – we are consulting.]

Dr Julian Lewis: An end to disproportionate focus is not the answer we need. What we need is for a line to be drawn, and the way to draw that line is to have a statute of limitations and a truth recovery process. Why has the Secretary of State excluded that from the consultation when it was supposed to be included?

[Karen Bradley: I know that my right hon. Friend feels strongly about this issue. I urge him to respond to the consultation – I repeat, it is a consultation. There are differing views on this matter and differences of opinion, and we do need to hear from everybody.]