Veterans' fury after Al Carns 'betrayed' British war heroes 'who could now face prosecution'

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:20, 3 June 2026 | Updated: 20:20, 3 June 2026 Veterans have accused Al Carns of 'betraying' them after he missed a key vote on legislation that could see Britain's war heroes hounded to their deaths with vexatious prosecutions. The Armed Forces minister, a decorated former Royal Marines colonel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has 'abandoned his principles' and 'put two fingers up' to British soldiers, it has been claimed, as he reportedly gears up to launch a bid for the Labour leadership. Mr Carns, who was awarded the Military Cross, missed the vote on Labour's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill in April, which veterans warn could open the floodgates to vexatious prosecutions against troops who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It comes amid rumours that he will stand in a Labour leadership contest after last month's chaos saw Wes Streeting resign as Health Secretary and Andy Burnham announced as the Makerfield by-election candidate as he plots his return to Westminster. As one ally said of the rumours last month: 'If someone fires the starting gun, he isn't afraid of gunfire.' But veterans have now accused Mr Carns of 'betrayal' and labelled him 'exactly the type of politician that the country simply does not need'.  Former Army colonel Patrick Mercer, 69, who served in Northern Ireland before becoming Newark MP from 2001 to 2014, told the Daily Mail: 'Initially, I was impressed by Al Carns, hoping that he might instill discipline into the Government. 'But his absence from the vote on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill reveals his true values. No officer should abandon his troops like this.  Armed Forces minister Al Carns has been accused by veterans of 'abandoning his principles' Former Army colonel Patrick Mercer, 69, (pictured centre, holding a rifle) completed nine tours of Northern Ireland  'His behaviour demonstrates a complete lack of loyalty and abandonment of the principles he must have had when he was serving. 'As an Ulster veteran, I believe that the minister for the Armed Forces, no matter of what political colour, should support us. 'Carns has proven experience and understanding of our plight, but he's betrayed us because he hasn't used his considerable clout to be our champion in Westminster. 'By opposing his party and voting against the Bill he would certainly not be obliging Labour. But where do his loyalties lie? With his comrades, surely? 'Carns seems to have forsaken the military qualities of loyalty and honour and very quickly adapted to the shifting values that many politicians have.' Ben McBean, a former Royal Marine who deployed to Afghanistan before losing an arm and a leg in an IED explosion, said Carns has 'put two fingers up' to veterans despite ex-soldiers 'relying on him for support' as one of their own. Mr McBean, who is raising money for a bionic arm, told the Mail: 'When Al Carns became veterans minister, it felt like he had our backs. But after he didn't show up to vote on the Troubles Bill, the lads felt let down. 'We were relying on him for support, so veterans were p****d off when he was a no show. It was like a big "f**k you" to veterans, it felt like he put two fingers up to us. Former Royal Marine Ben McBean, 38, lost an arm and leg after being blown up in Afghanistan Mr Carns (pictured) had also served with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan. He is now rumoured to be plotting a Labour leadership bid  'It feels like he's doing what suits him. It's like he's saying "I'm a civvie now so I don't need to give a f**k about veterans". 'People are worried about the Troubles Bill because next they'll be chasing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. And if they're willing to chase the SAS down, there is no chance for us. 'What's really sad is if you're saying you're a veteran and using that to help you get where you are and then not helping those people. 'Carns had an opportunity to show what he was about. We're seeing veterans getting chased down by the Government after sending soldiers to Northern Ireland, giving them weapons and ordering them to kill - when he could say "I'll put a stop to this" because he is supposed to have our backs.  'When Parliament voted on this there was nothing more important to us. 'Johnny Mercer fought for us in Parliament but when he lost his seat it felt like all his work had been reversed and now Labour are chasing veterans again. He (Mr Mercer) actually looked out for veterans.'  Mr Mercer, a former Royal Marines officer who deployed to Afghanistan, is seen to have championed Britain's war heroes as veterans minister under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.  But it is now feared that despite his campaign against elderly Northern Ireland veterans being hauled before courts on bogus charges, Mr Mercer's work could be undone as human rights lawyers could target soldiers from more recent conflicts with malicious allegations.  Decorated hero Brian Wood MC was falsely accused of war crimes after he was hit with phoney allegations that he and other soldiers were involved in the torture and execution of civilians at the Battle of Danny Boy in 2004.  These claims were found to be completely untrue. The civilians in question were found to be Iraqi soldiers with political or financial motivations for bringing the prosecutions and Mr Wood was exonerated.  Brian Wood MC, who was falsely accused of being a war criminal, is pictured here on patrol in Helmand, Afghanistan The human rights lawyer who came after him, Phil Shiner, was later struck off.  In 2024, Shiner pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud over false claims he had made against British soldiers serving in Iraq and was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.   And earlier this year the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, faced allegations of serious misconduct after The Telegraph published a cache of documents, including emails, showing him at the centre of legal challenges being brought against British soldiers at the Battle of Danny Boy.  In an exchange with human rights lawyer Martyn Day during the build–up to the lawsuits, emails revealed that Lord Hermer advised any publicity must leave 'some wriggle room if the killings did not in fact happen'. The claims against the British Army were ruled to be untrue at the Al–Sweady Inquiry in 2014 and the claimants were branded liars. Lord Hermer denies all wrongdoing and has said previously that he always acted with the 'highest professional standards', adding that he categorically denied acting for individuals when he knew their claims were false.  Separately, it was claimed in April that public money is being misused to 'punish' SAS veterans who served heroically in Northern Ireland.   Two former Army generals have decried taxpayers' money being used to fund 'meritless' cases after a judge in Belfast dismissed a legal challenge by the family of an IRA man killed during an SAS operation in Coagh, Co Tyrone, in 1991.  General Sir Peter Wall, the former head of the British Army, and General Sir Nick Parker, the former Commander of Land Forces, said in a joint statement: 'Public money is being misused to fund meritless challenges, wasting precious judicial time and dragging veterans and their families through years of unnecessary distress.' They also called on the Government to urgently review the Troubles Bill, which was sponsored by the Northern Ireland Office.  Iraq veteran Tim Balsom, 51, fears that Labour has a 'plan' to open the floodgates to prosecutions against Iraq and Afghanistan veterans - 'making money for their legal colleagues whilst simultaneously destroying the British Armed Forces'.  Iraq veteran Tim Balsom, 51, has accused Sir Keir Starmer of 'despising' British soldiers and previously claimed that Labour 'knifed' veterans 'in the back' by introducing the Troubles Bill He said: 'Starmer despises the Armed Forces as Labour have always done so.'  The veteran said Mr Carns's absence from the Troubles Bill vote was 'sadly unsurprising', adding that 'it shows his priorities'.   'It shows him to be exactly the type of politician that the country simply does not need: self-centred and self-obsessed like the majority of them. 'It's simply down to putting himself and his career first. "What voting difference do veterans make?", I would suggest is his point of view. "Not a constituency worth bothering about."'  Earlier this year, British veterans accused Sir Keir Starmer of 'knifing' them 'in the back' over Labour's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. They said the legislation is 'designed to make life more difficult for troops on the frontline' and puts them at risk of being hounded with baseless claims by human rights lawyers decades after being deployed with the Armed Forces. Reform UK previously vowed to end the scandal of elderly British soldiers being 'dragged in front of the courts for repeated and vexatious prosecutions', while terrorists 'walk free'. The Northern Ireland Bill would repeal the protections laid out by the Conservative Party's Legacy Act, introduced before Labour came to power - despite the release of all paramilitary prisoners, including the IRA, as part of the Good Friday Agreement. It has undergone its second reading in Parliament and is currently at committee stage. A Government spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'The Legacy Act 2023 offered the false promise of conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes.  'It was found to be incompatible with international law, thrown out twice by the courts and left veterans without any protections. 'In contrast, we are bringing forward a substantial package of amendments at committee stage to further safeguard our veterans, in addition to the vital new protections already in the Bill.  'There is no question of veterans being prosecuted for having followed the rules. 'We will continue to speak to veterans' organisations so that the amendments we bring forward are robust, workable and lawful.' They added that Mr Carns missed the vote on the Troubles Bill due to prior diary commitments, visiting British Armed Forces overseas, and that the trip was planned before the second reading had been tabled in Parliament.  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. 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