WITNEY MP Robert Courts has joined forces with 150 Tory MPs and peers who are demanding action to halt plans to investigate Northern Ireland veterans.

Mr Courts was one of 14 MPs and peers to sign and deliver the letter to Downing Street last month, which states the establishment of a new Historical Investigations Unit would put 'service and security personnel at an exceptional disadvantage'.

The letter is also backed by four former Chiefs of Defence Staff, a former First Sea Lord and a former General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland.

It reads: "We have often heard the promise that the reinvestigation process will be fair, impartial, balanced and proportionate.

"We fully understand that no one should be above the law, but investigating only certain aspects of the past, whilst terrorists are treated differently by the judiciary means such a careful balance can never be so."

The letter follows on from Mr Courts’ petition earlier this year, which called for a statute of limitation for veterans to prevent prosecution after a certain number of years.

He said: “I was pleased to join colleagues in signing a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action on this crucial issue. We must be on the side of our veterans and end the spectacle of spurious historic allegations.

“We as politicians simply must do our duty to those who have served and done theirs.”

The issue is particularly relevant to West Oxfordshire, which includes the UK’s largest air base RAF Brize Norton, and Mr Courts explained he had received significant support from constituents.

He said: "The public feel very strongly about this, especially in West Oxfordshire.

"They feel for people putting their lives on the line and experiencing something that many of us could never imagine.

"We should be doing our duty to those who did their duty for us."