CORNWALL Council’s Armed Forces champion has said he is astonished and disappointed at Cornwall’s MPs for voting to support the Labour government in a move which he believes could lead to a loss of protection for Northern Ireland veterans.

Cornwall’s Labour MPs Jayne Kirkham, Perran Moon and Anna Gelderd and Liberal Democrat MPs Andrew George and Ben Maguire all voted in favour of removing a measure providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes from the previous Conservative government’s Legacy Act.

The controversial clause had already been found to be unlawful and was opposed by Northern Ireland parties and victims’ groups. It would have enabled anyone to avoid prosecution for offences related to the Troubles, if they had provided information about unresolved cases.

Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn said whatever the previous legislation’s intentions, it had “fundamentally failed”.

He brought what is known as a remedial order to the Commons last Wednesday evening, with MPs voting by 373 to 106 in favour of it.

Noah Law, the Labour MP for St Austell and Newquay, abstained from the vote as he was away from Parliament.

There is concern among veterans and many Conservative politicians that the move could lead to a loss of protection from prosecution for Northern Ireland veterans.

Conservative councillor Martyn Alvey, who is Cornwall Council’s Armed Forces Member Champion and is a veteran himself having served in the RAF from 1985 to 2004, said he was disappointed that five of Cornwall’s six MPs chose to support the government.

He told us: “I brought a motion to Cornwall Council last November asking the leader of the council to write to ministers expressing our concerns about the loss of protection for NI veterans in the Northern Ireland Act.

“My motion was supported cross-party and following healthy debate was passed with a clear majority of 65, with only two voting against and 11 abstaining. Even Labour colleagues supported my motion.

“The letter was duly sent but unsurprisingly the reply from the minister was unhelpful. It’s very clear from this vote that the vast majority of people in Cornwall are not supportive of the new NI legislation due to its unacceptable impact on our NI veterans.

“It is therefore astonishing and very disappointing that five of Cornwall’s six MPs chose to support the government and ignore their constituents’ views.”

We contacted Cornwall’s MPs to ask why they voted for the changes.

Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: “There never has been and never will be any moral equivalence between our Armed Forces – who risk their lives for this nation – and terrorist organisations.

“The Tories’ Legacy Act was undeliverable and has been rejected by our courts. Any incoming government would have had to fix this. The remedial order we passed last Wednesday is about repealing that defective legislation.

“The government’s Troubles Bill will put in place a fair and transparent system that will enable families – including over 200 Forces families – to find answers about the deaths of their loved ones, with genuine protections in place for veterans.

“These include protections against endless reinvestigation, recognition of age and health, anonymity, representation within the new legacy structures and practical measures to limit unnecessary disruption in later life.”

Ben Maguire, Lib Dem MP for North Cornwall, commented: “The Conservatives’ flawed Legacy Act gave immunity to the terrorists who killed and maimed so many of our British soldiers during the Northern Ireland Troubles, via provisions later declared unlawful by the UK courts.

“It failed to separate the terrorists from our brave veterans, who served with honour, to maintain the rule of law, whilst leaving them in a complete legal limbo with false promise of protections that just do not exist.

“While it is quite technical, in essence I voted for what’s called a ‘remedial order’ to uphold the rule of law, and end that disgraceful equivalence by removing the unlawful provisions that granted blanket immunity even to the most violent of terrorists. We must protect our brave veterans – not the terrorists who killed and maimed them.

“We now need to make sure the government listens to our call that British veterans are given the proper protections they are demanding and rightfully deserve.

“Liberal Democrat new clauses and amendments to the government’s legislation to replace the Legacy Act will guarantee that our veterans are treated fairly and never again equated with terrorists. With this remedial order now through, I look forward to voting in favour of these protections for veterans in the coming weeks.”

Labour MPs Perran Moon and Anna Gelderd and Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George have not responded to requests for comment on their vote.