Veterans: Northern Ireland
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Armed Forces in response to the question from the hon. Member for South Suffolk during the Urgent Question on Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Armed Forces Recruitment and Retention of 5 January 2026, Official Report, column 63, how many of the five protections for veterans in the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will apply to (a) coronial inquests and (b) subsequent criminal investigations.
Answered by Al Carns
The Government has worked closely with veterans’ groups to develop protections that apply both to Coronial Inquests and the Legacy Commission, so that veterans giving evidence as witnesses are protected regardless of which legacy mechanism they engage with.
The presumption in favour of remote evidence will apply across Coronial Inquests and Legacy Commission Inquisitorial Proceedings. The Troubles Bill also extends the right to request anonymity, currently applicable to inquests, to Legacy Commission Inquisitorial Proceedings.
The duty not to duplicate any aspect of previous investigations unless essential, the highest legal bar, will apply to all investigations and Inquisitorial Proceedings conducted by the Legacy Commission, and to coronial inquests.
As for witness welfare, the Legacy Commission is required to have regard to this in all investigations, while coroners must adhere to witness management protocols that dictate consideration of welfare. Finally, the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group, which can include representation from the armed forces, will provide advice to the Legacy Commission and the Secretary of State. It will have no role in relation to inquests.
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