SAS heroes who took part in the regiment’s greatest victory against the IRA have been threatened with murder charges after a capitulation by Labour.
Twenty-four soldiers are facing prosecution after the Government caved into Republicans over the possibility of a new inquest and inquiry into the 1987 IRA attack in Loughgall.
An eight-man IRA unit had launched the attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base in the village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
But the militants were killed by SAS soldiers who were waiting after receiving intelligence should the terrorists proceed with the attack.
Despite being set upon by IRA rebels brandishing assault rifles and armed with a 400lb bomb, the servicemen have been accused of disregarding the terrorists’ human rights by killing them.
The Loughgall attack was carried out on the orders of Jim ‘The Executioner’ Lynagh and Padraig McKearney, two of the leading members of the IRA in the late 80s, who were killed in the attack.
The new threat to veterans comes as Remembrance Sunday services are held this weekend to pay tribute to the sacrifices of the Armed Forces.
In the 38 years since the attack at Loughgall, no British soldier has uttered a word in public about it.
The destroyed RUC police base in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, following the attack by an eight-man IRA unit
The Loughgall attack was carried out on the orders of Jim ‘The Executioner’ Lynagh and Padraig McKearney, two of the leading members of the IRA in the late 80s
Now a veteran, who took part in the SAS operation and has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder for decades, has broken that silence.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, he criticises Labour’s treatment of veterans and its capitulation to the Republican agenda in Northern Ireland.
The decision to hold new inquests for the Loughgall attack and eight other incidents comes after a former member of the Parachute Regiment, Soldier F, was cleared of murder on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
The SAS hero said: ‘This situation is a farcical betrayal of soldiers – the politicians are completely in the wrong.
‘They’re hanging soldiers out to dry, traumatising veterans and damaging operations today because younger troops fear they will be treated the same if they open fire.’
He added: ‘Loughgall was a defensive rearguard action against those IRA thugs. We did our job for our country and we’re being persecuted for it.
‘For me, I wake up with cold sweats after flashbacks and nightmares, which is frightening for my wife and I am still suffering from my injuries on that day.’
Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by multiple inquiries, the soldier and his colleagues face more legal hell after Labour scrapped the Conservatives’ Legacy Act, which introduced protections for troops.
New inquests and possible criminal investigations will be based on the application of European human rights law.
Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) states that everyone’s right to life should be protected by law and no one should be deprived of their life intentionally except in a sentence following a fair trial. In relation to the Loughgall attack, Republicans have argued in court that security forces failed to prevent loss of life.
But the decorated soldier added: ‘Bullets were ricocheting everywhere as the IRA opened fire and the detonation of the bomb in the bucket caused the police station to partially collapse. There was dust and debris everywhere. I couldn’t hear or see, the radios stopped working and I thought the SAS soldier next to me had been killed. It was total confusion.
‘We later found out those attacking us were the IRA’s top guys. They had been active since the 1970s and were responsible for scores of deaths.’
The Daily Mail has campaigned to protect veterans of the Troubles while a petition calling for an end to their persecution has attracted more than 200,000 signatures.
Former soldiers say that the legal attacks on soldiers are being driven by the Government’s Northern Ireland Office (NIO), with the Ministry of Defence failing to stand up for veterans.
Veterans have protested in London about repeated historical investigations into their actions on the battlefield. The Mail’s SAS Stop the Betrayal campaign has highlighted these issues
The Conservatives’ Legacy Act, which was introduced in 2023 by the then veterans minister Johnny Mercer, put a block on the inquests.
But last year, the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Belfast found that the immunity clause was unlawful and incompatible with the ECHR.
The Government introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill last month, which aims to create a new framework for addressing Troubles-related deaths.
Last month, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn told the Commons that ‘nine inquests will be restored’ and a remaining 24 will go into what he called a ‘sifting process’ to decide if they should be handed to the Government’s new Legacy Commission for investigation. Mr Benn said Loughgall was one of the nine but the eight others have not been revealed.
The NIO overruled the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on whether there should be another inquest into Loughgall. Sources said there were ‘furious rows’ between officials as the MoD failed in a bid to stand up for troops.
Former SAS Sergeant Major George Simm said: ‘How many examples of this human rights lawfare stupidity do the British people have to witness before those inhabiting that parallel universe finally realise that the cunning schemes of the NIO are causing damage to the country’s security?’
A NIO spokesman said: ‘The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill sets out the criteria for resumption of inquests which had started and were halted by the Legacy Act.’
