Tory leader claims removing veterans’ immunity from prosecution will make soldiers think twice before opening fire
By Pieter Snepvangers, Political Reporter, and Tom Cotterill, Defence Editor
Daily Telegraph Online – 21 January 2026
Labour’s Troubles bill will cost the lives of front-line soldiers hesitant to act over fears of future legal prosecution, Kemi Badenoch has warned. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Conservative Party leader said removing veterans’ immunity from prosecution would lead to fatal errors with soldiers caught in two minds on the battlefield. Her comments came as seven retired senior SAS heads eviscerated Labour’s legislation, claiming it would harm Britain’s national security. They accused Sir Keir Starmer of putting terrorists above veterans. On Wednesday, Labour tabled an amendment to the bill that would allow veterans to be hauled before the courts decades after serving on the Government’s behalf.
A previous Act of Parliament, passed under the Tories, granted veterans conditional immunity from prosecution for their actions during the Troubles. However, Labour used a remedial order in the Commons on Wednesday night in an attempt to remove this protection because, it argued, it was
“incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)”.
Campaigners battling against the plans have warned the move would “turn on the taps” for hundreds of civil cases that could cost the taxpayer millions of pounds. Sitting in her parliamentary office, Mrs Badenoch was unequivocal in her criticism of the amendment which she described as a “betrayal” of veterans. She said:
“It sends a message that the British Government is weak. It says that the Government is too busy trying to please legal ambulance chasers than support the people who will fight for our country. Sir Keir Starmer’s government clearly doesn’t care. They are more interested in satisfying their international lawyer friends than doing what is right for the people of this country. This [bill] is not in the national interest.”
Seven retired senior SAS heads also criticised Labour’s changes to the Troubles bill. David Maddan, a former Grenadier Guards Squadron Commander – 22 SAS regiment – said retired troops now faced the prospect of being
“opened up to endless civil cases. The MPs that voted through the remedial order today have committed an outrage that veterans will not forget,”
he told The Telegraph.
“A fatal blow has been dealt to the trust soldiers have in the Government. When trust breaks it is not easily repaired and our nation becomes less safe.”
Aldwin Wight, a former Welsh Guards commander of 22 SAS, said the legal shake-up sent the message to veterans that
“the war never ends. They did their duty for the state, but the state won’t draw a line for them,”
he said.
“Labour has voted to turn Northern Ireland into a permanent courtroom and Britain’s veterans into permanent suspects.”
Recruitment crisis
Mrs Badenoch said the bill would lead to a recruitment and retention crisis at a time when the Army has shrunk to its smallest size in more than 200 years. She said:
“Young people will decide not to go into the Army because they don’t want to get harassed or hassled for following orders from politicians who were never in the dock. That’s the worst part of it. I think that the British Army is one of the best in the world, it keeps the world safe and we are proud of that. We want to see an increase in defence spending. Since 1985, defence spending went down every year under every government until around 2022 because everyone thought the world was more at peace. That is changing. We need to spend more on defence but if we don’t have anybody joining the Army, what are we spending it on? We need people to defend the realm.”
Asked whether the fear of prosecution would lead to fatalities from hesitant soldiers, she replied:
“Yes. Labour’s law makes us less safe as a country, it makes our soldiers less safe on the battlefield. And it makes us look weak to our enemies and opponents. Countries like Russia and Iran who are looking to undermine us. This is a very clever way for them without ever shooting a single bullet for those people who want to undermine our country to do so through legalistic means.
“That is why I have said we are going to leave the ECHR because using that convention is one of the ways they have been able to hound our soldiers. Conservatives have said we will leave it. We have done the work. We are not just saying it. We have done the work to make sure we don’t have endless legal ambulance chasing like this that would harass veterans who should be living a happy life in retirement.”
There are about 800 live civil cases which are going through the courts. Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told MPs on Monday there were 234 other lawsuits which were paused by the Tory’s former Legacy Act, including 120 against the Ministry of Defence. These could now be resumed. He said both of those laws granted terrorists immunity and blocked future investigations into the deaths of British troops in the Troubles. The Conservatives’ former Troubles bill was a “false promise”, “protected no one” and was “fundamentally wrong”, he added.
“It was never commenced. It was rejected by the courts as being incompatible with our legal obligation and as a result it was never implemented. No one ever got immunity,”
he told MPs. But furious former SAS heads said the removal of the protections would now open the door for veterans to face being hauled into courts by “money-hungry” lawyers. Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former SAS squadron leader, said the legal change signalled the Government “favours terrorists” and “does not have the backs” of military veterans.
“It is a disgrace that should make those who voted with the Government hang their heads in shame,”
he said.
Hounded by ‘despicable’ lawfare
Richard Williams, another former commanding officer of 22 SAS, added:
“In years to come, I am convinced the country will look upon veterans hounded into old age by the Government’s unchecked and despicable lawfare much as it now regards shell-shocked soldiers executed by firing squad in the First World War: loyal servants sacrificed by political expediency and moral blindness.”
In the Commons, Sir Julian Lewis, the Tory MP for New Forest East, questioned which legislation would better serve victims.
“Which scenarios make it more likely that families will get the truth after all this time?” he told MPs. “Is it a scenario where people can be prosecuted on either side and therefore have an incentive if they are guilty to conceal the truth.
“Or is it a scenario that existed under the legislation that our government brought in whereby people are much encouraged to tell the truth by what happened because they know they will not be punished if they do so?”.
Lincoln Jopp, the Tory MP for Spelthorne, warned veterans would now
“be used as pawns in a dreadful, awful proxy game” by the authorities.