NI: Tories pledge to rewrite human rights laws to protect British soldiers from prosecution
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Boris Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today pledge to amend the Human Rights Act to bring an end to the “unfair trials” of soldiers over their conduct in Northern Ireland, according to reports.
The Conservative Party manifesto will include a commitment to amending the law to exclude any death in Northern Ireland prior to the commencement of the Act in October 2000, The Times reports.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the measure would only apply to former soldiers who had previously been investigated and would not end prosecutions which have already begun.
Speaking to The Times, human rights lawyer Philippe Sands QC said: “Amending the act in the way proposed appears to raise serious concerns about compatibility with the Good Friday Agreement, and it cannot affect the application of the ECHR as such.”
Solicitor Mark Stephens added: “The UK has been a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights since 1958 and if we want to remain part of that convention any amendment of domestic legislation will have to be compliant with it.”
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