Dear Editor,
Anna Sabine, my local Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset, deserves recognition for voting against the carry-over of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
At first glance, the procedure may appear technical — simply allowing a Bill to progress into the next parliamentary session.
In reality, it carries significant consequences.
It keeps alive legislation that many veterans believe fails to provide the legal certainty and fairness they were promised when deployed on operations during the Northern Ireland Troubles.
For those who served like me, this is not an abstract legal debate.
It is about the risk of repeated investigations decades after the events, often in cases where evidence has long since degraded, and the balance between law and justice appears increasingly strained.
Whatever one’s view of how legacy issues should be handled, there is a growing concern that the current approach places a disproportionate burden on those who were sent to carry out the decisions of government.
This concern is no longer confined to Northern Ireland.
It is being raised in constituencies across the country, including here in Somerset, where veterans and their families form an important part of the wider community.
Their questions are straightforward: will the system treat them fairly, and will Parliament ensure that justice — not just process — prevails?
By voting against the carry-over, Anna Sabine has signalled that these questions deserve proper scrutiny rather than being carried forward by default.
That is not a rejection of accountability, but a recognition that the framework itself must command confidence if it is to endure.
At a time when many feel that such concerns are too easily overlooked, her position reflects a willingness to engage with a difficult issue on its merits.
That should be acknowledged.
Yours faithfully,
Lt Col (Retd) Richard Baillon MBE
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