UK elections: Conservatives pledge law change to protect veterans
The UK’s Conservative Party is pushing for new legislation to protect soldiers from what Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls ‘unfair trials’.
It is widely expected that the Conservative Party will include in its election manifesto a pledge to protect by amnesty all British soldiers who fought in Northern Ireland during the troubles, including those accused of crimes.
Johnny Mercer, the minister for defence people and veterans in the outgoing government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suggested new legislation on Twitter.
Under the proposed law, veterans would not be prosecuted over historical offences committed during operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and closer to home, Northern Ireland, where British forces were engaged in a conflict with Irish Republicans for decades.
Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee explains.