For decades, the British Government has been engaged in a quiet, shameful betrayal of the men and women of the armed forces.
Decades after the ceasefire in Northern Ireland, elderly veterans, who for years bore the brunt of the daily attrition of The Troubles, have faced the risk of prosecution.
As an officer of 40 years with two tours in Northern Ireland, I am all too familiar with the daily hazards those troops faced back then – the patrols, the checkpoint and the constant tensions.
For those soldiers, who acted under the authority of the Crown, to now be dragged through the courts based on faded memories, dubious testimonies and a legal environment warped by modern human rights interpretations is, frankly, an insult to honour and duty.
Meanwhile, many of those terrorists we fought side by side to defeat, who planted explosive devices and murdered innocent civilians, have walked free on early release or been granted amnesty.
Let me tell you here and now, a Reform UK government would bring this national disgrace to an immediate and permanent halt.
As the party’s first Armed Forces minister, I have made a solemn pledge: Within our first 100 days in office, we will introduce robust legislation to bring an immediate halt to all ongoing and future prosecutions of service personnel and veterans for historical conduct on sanctioned operations within the chain of command.
And have publicly pledged that if we fail to do so I will not remain in post.
Furthermore, our legislative package will establish vital safeguards for the future. Any prospective prosecution concerning actions taken on sanctioned operations will require the explicit, personal consent of the Secretary of State for Defence, alongside a strict 10-year time limit following an incident.
Let me be clear: This protection applies exclusively to those acting on orders within the military chain of command.
Actions falling outside combat or civilian crimes committed independently will be dealt with through the normal course of justice.
But the weaponization of the legal system against soldiers who served their country in good faith will be brought to a permanent halt.
On top of that, we will also address past injustices head-on through pardons for those already convicted under this climate of legal vengeance, by means of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
We must draw a hard, uncompromising line.
War is brutal, and counter-insurgency operations are uniquely messy.
They cannot be judged by the sanitized standards of a modern peacetime courtroom decades after the fact.
It is time to stop apologizing for our own history. It is time to stand up for the soldiers who stood up for us.
Under a Reform government, the witch-hunt ends.
Our veterans will be given peace, respect and, above all, the protection they so richly deserve.