Written questions by Eastwood.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84961 on Armed Forces: Northern Ireland, whether there were any remuneration capping arrangements applied to legal costs incurred in the defence of Soldier F; and whether Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid for Crown Court Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2005 was applied to defence costs.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) did not impose any cap on the legal costs associated with the defence of Soldier F. Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid for Crown Court Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2005 does not apply to costs funded by the MOD. The MOD will continue to provide the welfare and legal support to all Service personnel that served during the Troubles.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84961 on Armed Forces: Northern Ireland, what the hourly rate of legal fees paid to (a) Senior Counsel, (b) Junior Counsel and (c) solicitors instructed during the course of proceedings were.

This is considered commercially sensitive information and is being withheld accordingly. The MOD will continue to provide the welfare and legal support to all service personnel that served during the Troubles.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84961 on legal costs for ‘Soldier F’, if she will publish the cost for each stage of the legal processes for which support was provided.

The Ministry of Defence do not hold records of legal costs in a way that allows for the extraction and presentation of costs associated with each stage of the legal process. The Ministry of Defence will continue to provide the welfare and legal support to all Service personnel that served during the troubles.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84961 on Legal costs for ‘Soldier F’, what information his Department holds on the cost to the public purse for pastoral care provided to (a) Soldier F and (b) the families of the people who died on Bloody Sunday.

The Ministry of Defence do not provide pastoral care to those who have not served. Pastoral care provided to Soldier F during his legal proceedings involved the time of various employees and multiple organisations across the Department. Most of the associated costs are covered by central budgets within which the costs of support to individual cases are not separately identifiable, as such we cannot determine a specific figure for this support. The Ministry of Defence will continue to provide the welfare and legal support to all service personnel that served during the troubles.

What estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) legal costs and (b) other support provided to Soldier F relating to the case of the alleged murders of James Wray and William McKinney.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to supporting veterans and their families. As part of this, Soldier F has received legal and welfare support throughout his legal proceedings at public expense. The legal fees associated with these proceedings (including associated judicial reviews) amount to £4.3 million, which may rise marginally once final bills are received. These costs cover the period from when Soldier F was initially charged in March 2019. This includes costs associated with the Judicial Review leading to the PPS recommencing proceedings in 2022. Legal representation has been provided by the same experienced legal team since the Saville Inquiry, supplemented by leading solicitors and barristers, including King's Counsel, based in Northern Ireland. Other costs associated with the support of Soldier F, such as pastoral care, arrangement and payment of travel and accommodation, etc, are met from a central budget and involve the time of various employees for which a specific cost cannot be calculated.

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the resumption of inquests into deaths at Loughgall in 1987.

As the Secretary of State has already said today in this House, he is working closely with the Northern Ireland Secretary on policy proposals in relation to the Legacy Act, including to ensure that we discharge our duty to Veterans. We must find a way forward for the Armed Forces, and the wider NI community, who have been abandoned because of the previous Government’s failure to get this right. The Legacy Act was found to be unlawful, was not supported by any of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and was built on false promises to our Veterans.