Keir Starmer says new protections for veterans will not apply to paramilitaries

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Sir Keir Starmer has said a deal for veterans published alongside a new legacy framework will not treat former paramilitaries the same way.

The UK prime minister said he was “pleased” on the progress that had been made after the UK and Irish governments unveiled a new approach to deal with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The new framework, unveiled last week, contains commitments to fundamentally reform the mechanisms established in the 2023 Legacy Act.

Sir Keir was asked by BBC Northern Ireland if new protections being offered to veterans engaging with legacy processes would also be available to other participants, including former paramilitaries.

“It was one of the issues that didn’t get resolved under the Good Friday Agreement,” he said.

“And now we’ve got the Irish government and the UK government in agreement on this. We have made a provision for veterans in relation to it, the protections that have been put in place. They are for veterans, in this.”

He was then asked to clarify whether the approach for veterans would also include paramilitaries, after comments from the Irish government.

Sir Keir said: “No, it’s for veterans, and obviously we need to make all of the arrangements workable in practise.

“But the next thing that needs to happen is the necessary legislation to take this forward.”

He said Northern Ireland was “very, very important personally to me” and that the last government had “failed” on providing “accountability and truth and justice” for all victims.

HE added: “I want it to work, and I have in my mind’s eye the victims who’ve waited a very, very long time for… …The accountability that they deserve.”

Asked about the possibility of the Government engaging with paramilitary groups, he said “it is our job to do whatever we can to alleviate” the “intolerable” effect they are having on communities.

The Labour leader spoke to regional broadcasters before the party’s annual conference in Liverpool this weekend, amid speculation his premiership could be under threat.

The Prime Minister also dismissed “the personal ambitions” of his potential future leadership challenger Andy Burnham, and appeared to attack the Manchester mayor’s economic agenda by drawing parallels with Liz Truss.

“I’m not going to get drawn into the personal ambitions of the mayor of Manchester. What I will say is that our fiscal rules are ironclad because they protect working people and economic stability is fundamental,” he told Northern Ireland political editor Enda McClafferty.

“Three years ago this week, we had Liz Truss show us what happens if you abandon fiscal rules.”

He declined to be drawn on whether people in Northern Ireland should be able to vote in an Irish presidential election, ahead of the poll on October 24.

He said: “Well I think that’s a matter that we all have to reflect on, but I’m not going to get drawn into an answer on that now.

“I think that’s something that needs to be worked through, and I’m not going to get drawn on that just at the moment.”