Powys MP votes to kill Northern Ireland Troubles Bill over lack of safeguards for veterans

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, David Chadwick, voted this week to kill the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, stating that the Bill did not provide adequate protection to former military veterans.

The Liberal Democrats had hoped the vote would chuck out the legislation ahead of the King's Speech, but Labour MPs voted to carry over the legislation to next year’s parliamentary term.

Chadwick, alongside other Liberal Democrats, had previously sought to amend the Bill to provide protections for former veterans who served during the Troubles.

The Liberal Democrats voted against the carry-over motion for the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill as they stated it does not provide the meaningful safeguards that veterans deserve.

According to David Chadwick, the Government’s proposals had no clear statutory threshold to prevent repeated investigations without genuinely new evidence; no firm presumption in favour of remote participation; and limited clarity around how welfare, proportionality and the cumulative impact of past investigations will be applied in practice. As a result, veterans will continue to face uncertainty.

The uncertainty over the original law was created when the Northern Ireland Troubles Act 2023, brought in by the last Conservative Government, was struck down by our courts. It was unpopular with victims and veterans for making a moral equivalence between them and terrorists by providing blanket immunity to both, something the courts found unlawful. Chadwick and the Lib Dems originally tried to amend the legislation, including measures to prevent repeated investigations into the same cases without materially new evidence; to ensure veterans would not be required to give evidence in person unless strictly necessary, with a presumption in favour of remote participation; and to embed restorative justice principles into the work of the proposed Legacy Commission, including truth-telling and victim engagement.

He also backed proposals to improve transparency and oversight, including giving Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee a greater role in reviewing decisions to withhold information on national security grounds.

Chadwick has stated he will not back any legislation that fails to protect veterans and the Liberal Democrats will again seek to try and amend the legislation when the Government brings it back to the Commons after May.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said: “Veterans who served during the Troubles deserve fairness, certainty, and dignity, not the ongoing threat of being dragged through repeated investigations without new evidence.

“I worked constructively to improve this Bill by putting forward practical amendments to protect those who served, while also supporting victims and the wider goal of reconciliation.

“However, the Government has failed to put in place the safeguards needed to prevent injustice. Without clear protections, this legislation risks prolonging uncertainty for veterans and undermining confidence in the system. That is why me and my colleagues and I voted to try and kill the bill last night.

“Moving forward, it is vital that the Government does all it can to support and maintain peace in Northern Ireland.”