By Ashley Young-
The significance of leaving out new legislation to protect military veterans from the Queen’s speech is reflected in the controversy of the legislation itself.
The proposed legislation aims to protect the British armed forces who do the country a great service in protecting the nation and enduring the psychological scars of traumatic experiences. British prime minister, Boris Johnson promised in July to end the pursuit of soldiers over historical allegations of offences committed in operations during the Troubles in Northern Ireland as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Northern Ireland officials and No 10 advisers persuaded the UK prime minister to leave out the legislation from the Queen’s speech scheduled for Monday. The advice was wise because although the purpose of ending prosecutions against the military for past alleged offences is fairly noble , the controversy of the proposals runs deep.
Critics say it undermines the law if potentially guilty parties can escape punishment because of the passage of time.The proposed new legislation is to prevent prosecution for current or former personnel for alleged offences committed in the course of duty more than 10 years ago.
Vice president of The Law Society, David Greene said:
‘It is a principle of English law that serious crimes are not erased simply by the passage of time. It is the role of the justice system to determine independently the merit of each case, a function that is and must remain separate from government.’
The time limit on claims would be a ‘gross injustice’ to those who have dedicated their lives to their country and to innocent victims of military activities.