SAS veterans urged to break cover to lobby MPs about ‘hounding’ of comrades

Veterans of the elite SAS have been urged to declare their Special Forces background to lobby MPs about comrades being “unjustly hounded for doing their duty”. The SAS Regimental Association has shared a template letter to its members to send to their MPs, expressing “deep, and increasing, concern about the treatment of veterans caused by the processes in place to deal with the legacy of the Troubles”.

The template, seen by the Daily Express, was . It references an inquest last month which saw a coroner rule SAS soldiers were not justified in killing four IRA members in a 1992 ambush in Clonoe, Co Tyrone. Provisional IRA members – Kevin Barry O’Donnell, 21, Sean O’Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 – were shot dead by the soldiers minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station in February 1992.

Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, Northern Ireland’s presiding coroner, found the SAS soldiers did not have an honest belief in the necessity of using lethal force and that such force was unjustified and not reasonable.

The template, which was sent out to the association’s members, says the inquest “has brought matters to a head for UKSF (UK Special Forces) veterans”.

It states: “While acknowledging, and appreciating, the independent, MOD-funded legal support they receive, veterans still feel badly let down by successive governments.

“Hundreds are ensnared in legacy processes; in many cases facing years more of uncertainty and stress after decades of the same.

“With seemingly endless avenues for legal appeal and continual changes in government policy on how the legacy of the Troubles should be dealt with, it is unsurprising that veterans feel unjustly hounded for doing their duty.”

It also says: “UKSF veterans feel they alone face criminal investigation and risk prosecution for doing what they were trained, authorised, and expected to do as part of a successful counterterrorist campaign.”

The letter warns of an impact on serving personnel and potential recruits.

It says: “Yet it is not lost on those currently serving, or those who may wish to serve, that the ingenuity and courage they display today could see them accused of crimes decades in the future.”

Conservative MP for Goole and Pocklington Sir David Davis discussed the letter during Prime Minister’s Questions.

He said: “Four weeks ago, the Northern Ireland coroner accused British soldiers of unlawful killing after they engaged with IRA would-be murderers.

“After careful reading, as far as I can see, this judgment is based on no evidence whatsoever.

“Over 100 Special Forces soldiers have been summoned before these inquiries, not one IRA leader has been summoned.

“Soldiers that serve our country with honour, heroism and skill are being punished in their declining years for doing nothing but carrying out their patriotic duty.”

He added: “Does (the Prime Minister) not think that he and his Government have a duty to protect these soldiers from such partisan parodies of justice?”

declined to comment specifically on the findings of the Clonoe inquest, saying he has not “seen the details”.

The Prime Minister said: “On the broader point, it’s right that we should protect those who serve our country, wherever they serve our country, getting the balance right is critically important.

“I didn’t think that the legislation that was put forward by the party opposite achieved that but nonetheless, I do believe that in the interests of everybody in Northern Ireland, all those who served and all those who are victims, we do need to renew our efforts to find a way forward on this really important issue.”

The SAS Regimental Association is a charity with promoting the wellbeing of its members and their dependents one of its main aims, according to its website.

It is understood other Special Forces veterans have been encouraged to sign the letters.

The Ministry of Defence has been approached for a comment.