Two former Army commanders have voiced serious concerns over what they describe as a misuse of public funds to “punish” SAS veterans who served valiantly in Northern Ireland. Their statements follow a recent legal decision in Belfast, where a judge rejected a lawsuit brought by the family of an IRA member who was killed by the SAS during a 1991 operation in Coagh, County Tyrone.
General Sir Peter Wall, who once led the Army, and General Sir Nick Parker, the former Commander of Land Forces, contend that taxpayer money is being squandered on what they term “meritless challenges.” They urge the government to reassess its position on the Troubles Bill, which repealed protections for Northern Ireland veterans that had been established by the Conservative government’s Legacy Act.
In a joint statement, the generals criticized the funding of these legal actions, arguing that it not only wastes valuable judicial resources but also subjects veterans and their families to prolonged and unnecessary distress. The call for a review comes on the heels of another legal setback for the IRA family, with a Belfast judge dismissing a second appeal against a coroner’s finding that SAS soldiers acted justifiably when they used lethal force in the incident nearly 35 years ago.
The 1991 operation, which resulted in the deaths of three IRA members, was based on intelligence that suggested these individuals were planning to assassinate a former member of the Loyalist Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) in a public car park in Coagh. This operation has since become a focal point in the ongoing debate over legacy prosecutions related to the Northern Ireland conflict.
Their response came after a judge in Belfast on Thursday dismissed a second appeal against a coroner’s findings that SAS soldiers were justified in their use of lethal force when they killed three IRA men almost 35 years ago.
The Army unit had intelligence that members of the IRA’s East Tyrone brigade planned to murder a former member of the Loyalist Ulster Defence Regiment [UDR] at a public car park in Coagh.
A soldier had disguised himself as the ex-UDR man and stood in wait.
When one of the IRA volunteers opened the passenger door of their vehicle with a rifle aimed, the SAS team opened fire, killing paramilitaries Peter Ryan, Tony Doris and Lawrence McNally.
Doris was later described by a judge as being part of an ‘active service unit intent on murder.’
An IRA guard of honour at the funeral for volunteer Lawrence McNally, killed by SAS troops during an operation in County Tyrone in 1991
Tony Doris, a cousin of Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, was killed. His daughter launched a legal challenge against a coroner’s conclusion that lethal force was justified
Doris’ daughter, Roisin Nugent, received legal aid to challenge the coroner’s 2024 verdict, launching a judicial review application into the SAS team’s use of force – focussing on one veteran, known as Soldier B, now in his 60s.
She claimed that Soldier B, who fired eight shots towards her father in the space of two seconds, should have instead shouted a ‘warning’ or at least paused after each shot to think whether it was absolutely necessary.
Doris’ cousin is Michelle O’Neill, the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and vice president of Sinn Fein.
In an excoriating judgement following a hearing at the High Court in Belfast last year, Mr Justice McAlinden roundly dismissed Ms Nugent’s claim, saying the grounds of the legal challenge were ‘utterly divorced from the reality of the circumstances and challenges faced by Soldier B.’
He added: ‘Faced with a vehicle containing three members of an IRA active service unit intent on murder, what was Soldier B to do? Should he have fired one shot in the hope that this would have frightened the occupants of the vehicle into surrendering?
‘What if the occupants of the vehicle instead of surrendering, directed automatic rifle fire at the soldiers in the lorry, who were lying prone and trapped in their positions? The soldiers would have effectively been sitting ducks.
‘The only realistic response available to the soldiers… was to neutralise the immediate threat to life posed by the occupants of that vehicle and Soldier B clearly acted in a restrained and proportionate manner.’
Describing the challenge as ‘ludicrous’, he added: ‘I cannot conclude this judgment without expressing my surprise that legal aid funding was made available to mount such a challenge.’
The aftermath of the incident in Coagh, Co Tyrone. A judge concluded that the three IRA men were part of an ‘active service unit’ and were intending to kill on the day in question
The Daily Mail launched its ‘Stop the SAS Betrayal’ campaign to highlight the plight of Special Forces veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles
Despite his findings, Ms Nugent again used legal aid to take her case to Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal.
The legal aid system in Northern Ireland is devolved from central government although the Northern Ireland Department of Justice is assisted by Westminster funding.
In a summary of her findings again refusing Ms Nugent’s request to seek judicial review of the inquest conclusion, released on Thursday, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan said Soldier B ‘honestly believed’ the IRA unit posed an ‘immediate threat to life’.
She added that his actions were a ‘proportionate response in a fast-moving and lethal situation. She also questioned whether the challenge was an ‘effective use of public funds.’
‘To us the challenge really amounted to a disagreement with the coroner’s findings,’ she said.
Responding to the judge’s finding, Sir David Davis, a former SAS reservist, said: ‘This is large amounts of public money being misspent masquerading as justice, whilst in truth it promotes serial injustice.’
He described the Labour government’s proposed Troubles legislation as ‘a disgrace and a scandal.’
A joint statement from Special Forces associations said the judge’s finding in the Soldier B case ‘exposes how attempts to deal with the legacy of the Troubles are being exploited at public expense to punish and persecute veterans and to peddle a false narrative.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We welcome the Court of Appeal’s judgment dismissing the Nugent appeal.
‘This case is part of the complex legacy of the Troubles, which affected so many veterans, families, and communities.’
