Special Forces veterans call on Labour to scrap legislation that persecutes troops who served in Northern Ireland

Published: 00:12, 13 June 2026 | Updated: 00:29, 13 June 2026 Special Forces veterans on Friday night demanded Labour ditch legislation that persecutes troops who served in Northern Ireland, after Al Carns’ resignation. In his letter to the Prime Minister, the former Armed Forces Minister said the Legacy Bill would ‘fail veterans it claimed to protect’. Mr Carns’ remarks echoed the Mail’s ‘Stop the SAS Betrayal’ campaign which has fought valiantly to ensure elderly veterans are not hounded to their graves. Cashing in on a legal aid gravy train, Republican groups in the province are bringing decades-old cases against British troops back to criminal courts and inquests. They are seeking damages from the UK government, prosecutions of soldiers involved in incidents as far back as the 1970s and, according to senior officers, to rewrite history. Mr Carns revealed he had attempted in vain to convince former human rights lawyer Sir Keir Starmer and other government ministers to back British troops. He wrote: ‘I have worked to fix the Northern Ireland Legacy Bill from the inside. But it remains unfit for purpose. It risks failing the very veterans it claims to protect. ‘Men and women I served with, those I buried friends alongside, people who did their duty under conditions most individuals in Westminster will never have to imagine. Family members hold pictures of the victims of Bloody Sunday during Soldier F's trial last year before the ex-paratrooper was found not guilty ‘I set out the changes I believed were necessary. I have run out of room to argue this case honourably. We owe soldiers the loyalty to stand by them.’ He told GB News on Friday: ‘We don’t drag our veterans back to court. And importantly, we don’t rewrite history. Ninety per cent of all the casualties in Northern Ireland were caused by who? By terrorists.’ Last night, the Special Air Service Regimental Association (SASRA) said: ‘Al Carns’ letter reveals the government’s approach is fundamentally flawed. ‘His principled departure sends a welcome message but leaves our members vulnerable to endless, vexatious litigation triggered by apologists for terrorists. ‘The legislation must not be allowed to proceed.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.