Another elderly British veteran of the Troubles is facing a ‘show trial’ after prosecutors reversed a decision not to charge him.
Soldier B has been accused of attempted murder regarding an incident in West Belfast more than half a century ago.
The former paratrooper had previously been assured the case was not being pursued due to a lack of evidence.
The 78-year-old faces being put on trial in Northern Ireland despite appeals to the Prime Minister to stop such hearings.
The development in his case comes after another ex-Para, Soldier F, was cleared of murdering civilians on Bloody Sunday.
In 1997, Soldier B was told by the Director of Public Prosecutions he would not face any further action. But this was overturned as part of a drive by Republicans to punish soldiers without new evidence, according to military sources.
The case was condemned last night by General the Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, who said the treatment of ex-soldiers, compared to that of former terrorists, was akin to ‘two-tier justice’.
Soldier B was patrolling in the Andersonstown area of West Belfast on May 12, 1972, when a gunman was identified. A rifle was subsequently found nearby.
Terrorist Eugene Devlin was shot and injured at the scene. Soldier B denies shooting him and no other witnesses have suggested he was responsible.
There is a growing sense among veterans of the Troubles that cases such as Soldier F and Soldier B are reaching court due to political pressure, rather than the force of evidence.
Northern Ireland veterans commissioner David Johnstone said: ‘Veterans believe this is as much about appeasement as it is about seeking truth.
‘Even if acquitted, it is the legal process, sometimes spanning decades, that is the real punishment of veterans.
‘They should not be dragged through an elongated legal processes.’
Devlin, a father of one, was shot and killed in a separate incident in December that same year.
He died while taking part in an ambush of British troops. He was buried with an IRA guard of honour.
The Daily Mail has long campaigned for an end to the threat of legal action and witch-hunts against army veterans.
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