Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

CATHERINE DEVENEY: Soldiers who upheld law in Northern Ireland need not fear – it is those who took it into blood-stained hands who must be brought to justice

Johnny Mercer recently resigned over two British soldiers being prosecuted for alleged past atrocities in Northern Ireland
Johnny Mercer recently resigned over two British soldiers being prosecuted for alleged past atrocities in Northern Ireland

Belfast, 2004. In the febrile atmosphere of  Stormont parliament, I watch the late Martin McGuinness, consummate politician, cutting through chaos in the chamber.

He was minister for education then, a long and interesting road from his position as the IRA’s Chief of Staff.

Afterwards, in the quiet of his office, the room seemed to shrink a little when I asked if he had been prepared to pull the trigger himself. His answer was stark. He didn’t join to play tiddlywinks.

Martin McGuinness in the 1980s

The moment, which later prompted me to write a novel about The Troubles, flashed back when reading about the row this week over two British soldiers being prosecuted for alleged past atrocities in Northern Ireland.

Johnny Mercer, Junior Defence Minister and former army captain, resigned over this issue, saying: “It is one of the disgraces of modern Britain that we are attempting to prosecute people 50 years after things took place.”

How innocuous that vague word “things” sounds. But those “things” involved blood and treachery and the murder of innocents – and that’s official.

The 2010 Saville report into Bloody Sunday condemned the indiscipline of soldiers and the unlawful killing of 13 innocent civilians, “none of whom was posing a threat”.

More importantly, the inquiry noted the societal effect of those killings – the fact that it exacerbated violence in Northern Ireland for years to come.

Terror turned to anger

It was a point illustrated by McGuinness. The casual coldness of his tiddlywinks comment shocked but intrigued me. What led him to that place? “An unlawful shooting,” he said.

As a youth, he turned into his home street in the Bogside one day and saw local lads throwing stones at army tanks.

There was a shot, a commotion, confusion. McGuinness moved towards the crowd. The bloodied corpse of a friend, Dessie Beattie, was lifted up. What did McGuinness feel? “Terror.”

When was murder acceptable? When was child abuse morally defensible? They never were. It was just acceptable, in some quarters, to cover them up

I understood that. The fear of seeing your first dead body, of confronting the enormity of death, the realisation that the body is just the detritus of the spirit. It is a lot to take in when you are young.

And yet, wouldn’t fear make you turn from, not towards, violence? Perhaps.

Except that just a few days later, McGuinness saw exactly the same thing happen again to another contemporary. His fear turned to anger. His country, he believed, was now at war with Britain.

Unlawful killings and internment gave birth to a whole new generation of Republicans. “It had a very serious effect on the psychology of young people,” he said that day.

Those with blood-stained hands should worry

Johnny Mercer complains standards are being imposed retrospectively – the same tired argument that is so often pulled out about paedophilia. “Things were different then.”

Really? When was murder acceptable? When was child abuse morally defensible?

They never were. It was just acceptable, in some quarters, to cover them up.

Mercer is unhappy that the Good Friday agreement freed terrorists, while soldiers are now being jailed.

Johnny Mercer recently resigned over two British soldiers being prosecuted for alleged past atrocities in Northern Ireland

How is that fair, he asks, when the military “upheld law and order in Northern Ireland for 30 years”?

But if they upheld law and order, they have nothing to fear. It is those who took it into their own blood-stained hands who need worry.

Soldiers are instruments of the state and that carries a particular responsibility. Those who kill with a uniform on, in the name of their government, cause public protest and, often, violent uprising.

The murder of George Floyd in America by police officer Derek Chauvin was important not just because of the individual death but because of the societal message it sent out.

Acknowledgement of wrongdoing is important

Justice has no sell-by date. It has no limits, no boundaries; it just is.

Certainly, it is distressing when some hunched figure in their 90s is led, handcuffed, into court, accused of holocaust atrocities.

Or some sad, inadequate old man is revealed as the sexual predator of innocent children and jailed.

Or a soldier is prosecuted when war has ended.

But these people weren’t always old. When young, they stole lives and stole childhoods. They destroyed hearts and minds and families and futures.

Given the volatile situation in Northern Ireland, this issue needs careful handling. I have no difficulty with a just amnesty. And yes, some of those soldiers were mere teenagers, carrying guns weightier than their life experiences.

But even if sentences reflect some kind of amnesty, acknowledgement of wrongdoing is important.

This isn’t about revenge. It’s about justice. Johnny Mercer may think it abandons soldiers to hold them to account. The truth is, it destroys democracy not to.


Catherine Deveney is an award-winning investigative journalist, novelist and television presenter