Posted on August 14, 2025

Imagine standing alone at dawn by a war memorial, the vast expanse of honed stone cold beneath your fingertips. You close your eyes and recall the faces of comrades lost—brave souls who entrusted their lives to duty, freedom, and the values you hold dear. Now picture those freedoms slipping away, eroded not by foreign tyranny, but by a government increasingly suspicious of its own citizens—its own veterans. This is the stark reality facing Britain under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government. The very individuals who sacrificed everything for our liberty now find themselves stripped of protections, stripped of trust, and stripped of the right to speak out without fear.

The Legacy Act Repeal: Betrayal at the Highest Level

In 2023, the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act provided conditional immunity from prosecution to veterans and paramilitaries involved in the Troubles—if they fully cooperated with truth recovery processes. It was designed to end decades of uncertainty for those who had served.

Now, the Labour government is moving to repeal the Act. Veterans fear this will reopen a flood of investigations and prosecutions, jeopardising the lives of those who acted under lawful orders. Hundreds have protested outside Parliament. A petition opposing repeal has gathered over 170,000 signatures. Veterans Minister Alistair Carns, a former Royal Marine, is reported to have threatened resignation over the policy shift.

Veterans such as Daniel Holmes (RAF) and Mick Curtis (Royal Horse Artillery) have warned that repealing the Act risks “retrospective accountability” and “protracted legal battles” for service personnel. Falklands War hero and former SAS Brigadier Aldwin Wight has condemned the government’s actions as a “campaign of institutional amnesia,” noting the bitter irony that those who fought to uphold the law are now pursued, while former terrorists have been absolved and even compensated.

Veterans Joining a Rising Tide of Distrust

This is not a narrow dispute over one piece of legislation—it is a breach of trust. The Armed Forces Covenant promises that those who serve will be treated fairly, honoured, and supported. Many in the veteran community now see that covenant as broken. This betrayal risks not only the morale of those currently serving but the very future of recruitment and retention in the Armed Forces.

The Expanding Reach of State Surveillance

While veterans fight for justice, the British public faces a different kind of encroachment: the steady expansion of government surveillance powers.

Social media monitoring (SOCMINT) is increasingly deployed by public bodies, often without robust oversight. Privacy advocacy groups warn that such surveillance risks chilling free speech and dissent.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (“Snoopers’ Charter”) grants sweeping powers to intercept communications, collect internet connection records, and compel technology companies to weaken encryption. In February 2025, Apple confirmed it had received a technical capability notice under this law, requiring it to alter its iCloud backup encryption globally.

These tools are defended as necessary for national security, but without transparency and accountability, they erode public trust.

Online Safety Act: A Censorship Risk in Disguise

The Online Safety Act was promoted as a means to protect children from harmful content. While well-intentioned in principle, free speech advocates and cybersecurity experts warn that it grants disproportionate censorship powers, compelling platforms to remove lawful content under threat of penalty. Critics argue this sets a precedent for “mission creep,” enabling future governments to suppress dissent more easily.

International Alarm: U.S. Condemnation of the UK’s Path

This growing erosion of civil liberties has not gone unnoticed abroad.

A 2025 U.S. State Department report concluded that human rights in the UK had “worsened”, highlighting serious restrictions on freedom of expression, protest zones, and speech limits introduced after the Southport tragedy. The report also raised concerns about the Online Safety Act’s implications for democratic discourse.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has publicly warned that the UK is on a “very dark path” toward suppressing dissent. American lawmakers and tech leaders have echoed these concerns, warning that the Online Safety Act could chill speech and impose unprecedented regulatory burdens on U.S.-based platforms.

Why This Matters Beyond Veterans’ Rights

Veterans fought for a country where liberty, justice, and truth were non-negotiable. When those principles are undermined, their sacrifices are devalued. The repeal of the Legacy Act is more than a policy decision—it is a signal that no promise is permanent, no protection guaranteed, and that even those who served can be cast aside when politically convenient.

When combined with ever-expanding surveillance powers, encroachments on online freedoms, and mounting international criticism, the pattern becomes clear: the balance between security and liberty is tipping dangerously toward state control.

A Call to Defend What Was Won at Such Cost

Our freedoms are not self-sustaining. They exist because previous generations were willing to defend them—on battlefields abroad and in civic life at home.

Now, the duty falls to us. We must:

• Exercise every lawful right to protest: Peaceful demonstrations, public assemblies, and online campaigns must be used to voice dissent.
• Support veterans: Attend their rallies, sign petitions, and demand that Parliament honour the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Demand oversight: Call for judicial and parliamentary scrutiny of surveillance laws, and for limits on their scope.
• Protect free speech: Resist legislation that censors lawful expression under the guise of safety or security.

Veterans Have Had Enough — And They Are Organising

Across the country, the mood within the veteran community is hardening. The repeal of the Legacy Act has become the rallying point for a wider anger—anger at a government that disregards their service, erodes their rights, and assumes their loyalty can be taken for granted.

From Whitehall to regional memorials, veterans’ groups are moving beyond petitions and private complaints. Networks are forming—locally, online, and through established associations—to coordinate lawful protests, public events, and direct engagement with media and Parliament.

This is not simply about the past. Many veterans are alarmed at what they see as a government willing to strip away freedoms at home while simultaneously ramping up war rhetoric abroad. They fear that the same leaders who are dismantling legal protections for those who served in Northern Ireland will, without hesitation, commit today’s Armed Forces to dangerous deployments, expecting unquestioning obedience and sacrifice.

The message from the veteran community is becoming clear: loyalty is not a blank cheque. The respect and commitment of those who have worn the uniform must be earned, not assumed. And if the government continues to ignore that truth, it should be prepared for a wave of visible, organised, and lawful dissent from those whose oaths to defend freedom did not expire when they left the service.

Conclusion: This Is Not Inevitable. It Is a Choice.

When governments overreach, it is not disloyalty to speak up—it is patriotism. The veterans who risked their lives for our freedoms are calling for action. Let us answer them.

Write to your MP. Support veteran advocacy groups. Take part in lawful protests. Share this message.

The price of liberty has already been paid in full—now it is our responsibility to keep it.