MoD pays out over £12m to alleged victims of Army during the Troubles

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid out more than £12 million to alleged victims of British military operations in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The taxpayers’ cash was paid to 82 people, according to officials’ response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

All of those who received the legacy compensation payments are believed to be individuals who were wounded by British troops or relatives of those who were injured or killed. Their identities are confidential.

In all cases the MoD has said that it had a legal liability to make the payments.

One former Army intelligence officer described the payments as another form of “lawfare” against the British government’s involvement in the Troubles.

The payments cover the period from 2019/20 when £1.39 million was paid out until 2023/24 when just under £4 million was paid in compensation.

In 2020/21 £650,512 was paid out but the following year the compensation payments had risen to £2,664,712. In 2022/23 the figure was £3,896,281 and in 2023/24 the compensation payouts had risen again to £3,958,832.

Six years ago it emerged that the MoD had spent almost £1 million compensating the families of those killed in the Bloody Sunday shootings.

A man shot in the face by a soldier on Bloody Sunday was awarded £193,000 in a civil compensation case.

The family of Gerard McKinney, a 35-year-old father-of-eight, who was shot dead were awarded £625,000, and the family of 20-year-old Michael McDaid who was also killed received £75,000.

Damages worth more than £900,000 were awarded to the families of nine of those killed. The disclosure follows the announcement earlier this year that another four veterans, who were part of an undercover unit called the Military Reaction Force, will face murder charges.

Dozens of soldiers have been investigated as part of legacy investigations dating back decades.

Unlawful fatal shootings

It is understood that the majority of the latest payments revealed in the FoI are also linked to alleged unlawful fatal shootings by British soldiers.

Hundreds of former paramilitaries, including Gerry Adams, the former leader of Sinn Fein, who has always denied being a member of the IRA, have also attempted to sue the British government.

The MoD refused to provide any details on whether the recipients of the compensation were former paramilitaries.

Colonel Phil Ingram, a former military intelligence officer, labelled the payments as “disgusting” and said they smacked of what he said was another form of “lawfare” against the British government.

He added: “If the MoD has paid out over £12 million in compensation to those in Northern Ireland who have claimed to have suffered at the hands of British troops then those British troops responsible should be prosecuted or disciplined for failure in their duty.

“Otherwise, as I suspect, it is the MoD quietly paying off terror and trouble apologists and many of the claims are likely to be at least embellished or worse, false.

“Once again this feels like another form of lawfare where the British government is being used to target the British government.

“The MoD doesn’t pay its veterans off for injuries caused in service and does everything it can to avoid their mostly legitimate claims.

“The fact they are paying so much for Troubles legacy issues is simply disgusting. That is an insult to the genuine sufferers in Northern Ireland and to every veteran who has sought compensation. Heads should roll.”

Former Royal Marine Sergeant Major Jeff Williams, a veterans campaigner, added: “I feel like we live in a world gone mad. British veterans are being charged with murder while the MoD is handing out cash to people who claim they were victims of abuse by the Armed Forces.”

Payments to relatives

Earlier this year it was proposed that bereavement payments should be made to relatives of people killed during the Troubles, including those who were paramilitaries.

The suggestion is contained in an advice paper from the Commission for Victims and Survivors sent to the Executive Office at Stormont.

If acted upon, about 13,000 people could benefit. No amount is suggested, but figures contained in the paper show the scheme could cost upwards of £130 million.

That would cover one-off payments of £10,000, which would apply regardless of the circumstances in which a person was killed.

Awards of £50,000 would see the scheme requiring funding of almost £650 million.

About 3,500 people were killed in the Troubles during more than 30 years of violence from the late 1960s onwards.

An MoD spokesman said: “When compensation claims are received, they are considered on the basis of whether or not the MoD has a legal liability to pay. Where there is a legal liability, compensation is paid.

“We do not comment on the identity of claimants, nor do we provide details on individual settlements.”