Takeaways

• Republic's role during the troubles
• Cross-border security
• Legacy process
• Selective forgetting

Chapters

• 00:00 The Republic's Role During the Troubles
• 08:09 Extradition Difficulties and Operations
• 13:13 Political Reality and Peace Process
• 19:33 Jonathan Powell's Role and Political Language
• 28:17 Changing Language and Political Legitimacy

In this episode of the Justice for Veterans Podcast, Lt Col Simon Barry discusses the growing contradictions at the heart of the Northern Ireland legacy debate.

The conversation explores:

• Why the phrase “agents of the state” risks dehumanising those who served

• The widening gap between political decision-makers and those sent to carry out policy on the ground

• The impact of legacy investigations on veterans, families and communities

• Why younger generations of veterans are beginning to pay attention

• The implications for future military operations and morale

• The changing political atmosphere around the Legacy Act and current legislation

• The role of Westminster, Dublin and Sinn Féin in shaping the debate

• Why many veterans now believe the issue extends far beyond Northern Ireland

This is a conversation about responsibility, memory, lawfare, political language and the human realities often lost beneath abstraction.

Listen, subscribe and share.

www.justiceforveterans.uk

In this episode of One More Mission, those present speak candidly in the immediate aftermath.

The meeting itself was described as cordial, with officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Northern Ireland Office, and Downing Street in attendance. While bound by confidentiality, the delegation makes clear that their concerns were heard—and, in some cases, recognised.

But the underlying message is harder-edged.

With around 1,200 unresolved deaths linked to Operation Banner, serious questions are raised about whether the Government’s stated aim of delivering “justice, information and answers for all” is achievable in practice—or whether the process risks becoming the punishment.

Alongside this, the episode explores:

• WHY veterans believe the current approach repeats past failures
• HOW legal processes are being experienced by those who served
• WHAT is driving renewed coordination across veterans’ groups
• WHETHER political pressure could yet shift the direction of the legislation

Featuring additional insight from Paul Young, this is a grounded, first-hand account from those directly involved—recorded at a moment when the issue is moving back to the centre of political and public debate.

This is not history. It is ongoing.

Subscribe for more episodes of One More Mission.

The Government pushed the Bill through Parliament. But the reduced majority, notable absences, and growing pressure from veterans at constituency level tell a different story.

This episode covers:

• Why the vote result may mask a deeper political problem
• The rise in veteran engagement with MPs and local communities
• The gap between “law” and “justice” in legacy cases
• Questions over the Government’s strategy and motivations
• The role of the Republic of Ireland and wider political alignment
• What the proposed amendments do—and do not—change
• Why momentum among veterans is now building

This is not just about Northern Ireland. It is about how a country treats those it sent to fight—and what happens when that contract begins to fray.

The discussion is direct, grounded in experience, and focused on what comes next.

Watch, listen, and decide.

#JusticeForVeterans #TroublesBill #OperationBanner #Veterans #Lawfare #NorthernIreland #UKPolitics #OneMoreMission

The central point is clear: the new approach does not resolve the past—it risks reopening it.

Barry explains how the 2023 Legacy Act attempted to draw a line, however imperfectly, while the current direction moves back toward repeated investigations, reopened inquests, and prolonged legal uncertainty. The result, he argues, is a system where the process itself becomes the punishment.

This is not about calls for immunity. The discussion focuses on practical safeguards:

• No repeat investigations without new evidence
• Sensible time limits
• Clear distinction between terrorists and lawful state actors
• A system that is balanced, rather than one-sided

The episode also addresses a growing concern among veterans: that legal and personal risk is being pushed down the chain of command onto junior ranks and frontline personnel, while those at the level of decision-making remain largely untouched.

There are signs that public understanding is shifting, but the message still needs to move beyond veteran circles and into wider national awareness.

If nothing changes, the likely outcome is continued litigation, prolonged uncertainty, and no meaningful closure.

This is a measured, direct conversation about fairness, accountability, and how the state treats those it sent to act.

For more information visit: justiceforveterans.uk

This is not another discussion about wording or intent. It is about consequences.

Barry backs the stance taken by the SAS Regimental Association: legal action promised, and a boycott of inquests and inquiries on the table. The reasoning is direct. If the system lacks fairness, balance, and finality, then continued participation becomes part of the problem, not the solution.

The episode examines:

·       Why the claim of “robust protections” does not stand up under scrutiny

·       How repeat investigations, evidential thresholds, and disclosure create a one-sided process

·       What “the process is the punishment” means in practical terms

·       Why confidence in the system has broken down

·       What a boycott would actually look like in law and practice

·       Whether other regimental associations will stand with the SAS position —o r remain passive

Barry also addresses the wider implications. This is not confined to a small group of veterans. It reaches into families, communities, and, crucially, those still serving. What happens here will be noted by those expected to operate under the same system in future.

This episode does not attempt to smooth the edges. It sets out a position that is already hardening — and asks a simple question:

Who stands with it?

Listen to the One More Mission podcast from justiceforveterans.uk.

Drawing on first-hand experience, Barry explains how soldiers were trained under strict legal frameworks, including the principle of minimum force, and contrasts this with the asymmetrical legal environment many veterans believe exists today.

The discussion covers:

• The role of the “yellow card” and rules of engagement
• Why context is essential in judging historical actions
• Concerns about a two-tier justice system
• The shortcomings of current legacy proposals
• The difference between law and justice in practice
• Practical steps veterans and supporters can take now

At its core, this episode examines whether the current approach delivers fairness—or simply extends a legal process that many see as detached from reality.

For those following the legacy debate, this is a clear and grounded account from someone who was there.

Listen, consider, and decide where the balance between law and justice should lie.

Learn more at: justiceforveterans.uk

Barry argues that many officials and politicians dealing with the issue today simply do not understand what the conflict was actually like for the soldiers and police who were there. When bombs were exploding, mortars were being fired and helicopters shot down, he says, it was not an abstract political dispute but a violent campaign that required a military response.

The conversation explores why the voices of veterans matter in the current debate and why local engagement with MPs may be more effective than national campaigns or media headlines.

A group of veterans in Cornwall has already begun meeting MPs, encouraging councils to write to ministers and pressing the issue directly with Parliament. Barry believes that if similar efforts appeared across dozens of constituencies, the political calculation in Westminster could change rapidly.

The discussion also looks at:

• Why many MPs lack context about the realities of the Troubles
• How direct conversations between veterans and MPs can change understanding
• ·Why the coming political and legal developments could be a turning point
• The strategy behind the Cornwall veterans’ engagement campaign
• What veterans across the UK can do if they want to get involved

For Barry, the message to veterans is simple: if those who served remain silent, others will define the narrative of the conflict.

“The time for action is now,” he says.

Watch the full interview and hear why many believe this moment could shape how the legacy of the Troubles is judged for decades to come.

For more information, visit: justiceforveterans.uk

Takeaways

• Sanctuary and support from the Irish Republic significantly prolonged the IRA's campaign during the Troubles.
• The involvement of the Irish Republic in investigations and its potential role in rewriting history raises concerns about impartiality and accountability.

Chapters

• 00:00 The Troubles and the Irish Republic
• 06:05 IRA's View of the Republic
• 12:12 Porosity of the Border
• 18:47 Republic's Involvement Today

What was sold as an "imperfect but best available" solution to decades of festering legacy disputes is now being torn down—reviving civil claims that Barry calls a taxpayer-funded "gravy train" for lawyers. Elderly veterans face repeated courtroom ordeals on a brutally tilted playing field, where soldiers' meticulous records clash with the IRA's vanished evidence and Good Friday deal perks.

Barry slams ECHR overreach as "process trumping justice," exposes Keir Starmer's Iraq prosecution zeal, and warns of deepening sectarian wounds fuelled by Dublin's hypocrisy. Politicians posture in camouflage while voting to undermine those who served.

Veterans want justice, not impunity — a fair crack of the whip. Barry urges bottom-up fightback: lobby local MPs, hit local media, stand firm with skin in the game.

Listen now for unfiltered truth from the front lines of legacy lawfare. Full show notes and resources at justiceforveterans.uk.

Views are Simon Barry's own, forged in service.

Barry highlights concerns raised by Kemie Badenoch in Prime Minister’s Question Time, the , Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner’s media comment that the government is now terrorists better than they are treating veterans, and what the future may hold for those Labour MPs towing the party line.

Keywords

veterans, Ukraine, military, SAS, Kemi Badenoch, Prime Minister, national security, legacy bill, One More Mission

Takeaways

'You are now treating terrorists better than you're treating veterans.'

'If it is acceptable to us, then it's not going to be acceptable to them.'

'The government is happy to abrogate the responsibility for its soldiers' legal status.'

'The optics politically may be something that Keir Starmer is worried about.'

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the One More Mission Podcast

00:17 Kemi Badenoch's PMQs

02:20 Concerns Over the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill

04:13 Insights from David Johnson, Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner

07:32 The Political Landscape and Its Impact on Veterans

09:30 The Risks of Deploying Troops to Ukraine

14:19 The Need for Clear Exit Strategies

18:10 The Fallout of Political Decisions on Veterans

In today’s podcast, we examine one operator and his approach — Jonathan Powell — and what that approach produces in the real world.

Powell, who was Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff from 1994 to 2007 and one of the architects of the negotiations with the IRA to end the armed insurrection, is now national security advisor to No.10

Powell positions himself as a contemporary interpreter of Machiavelli, both in title and intent, rather than leaving the parallel to others.?

In fact, his book is literally titled The New Machiavelli, which is marketed as a modern reworking or counterpart to Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince for today’s political leaders.

Our guest today is former Para Lt. Col Simon Barry, who served in Northern Ireland, has been tracking the legislation closely. He has strong views on where it’s heading, what it means for those who served and those who suffered, and on Powell’s role in it all.

They argue that the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, if enacted, would erode trust in the nation’s legal system, blur the line between legitimate authority and illegitimate violence, and create a direct threat to national security.

Days later, the Troubles Bill passed its second reading in Westminster. Former Parachute Regiment Lt Col Simon Barry flew from South Africa to be there. Justiceforveterans.uk caught up with him in the aftermath—to unpack the letter, what he did before the debate, and what he witnessed inside the House of Commons.

This is Justiceforveterans.uk’s “One Last Mission” podcast.

In this episode

·       Why senior commanders have gone public—now

·       The “moral contract” argument, and what happens when it breaks

·       What Westminster felt like on the day of the second reading

·       What veterans want: clarity, fairness, and closure—without rewriting history

Note: Views expressed are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation mentioned.