THE British government must offer legal protection from prosecution to former soldiers who served in Northern Ireland, DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.
Tory MP Johnny Mercer left his post as minister for veterans on Tuesday after criticising the government over "appalling injustices" against soldiers who served during the Troubles.
Mr Mercer said elderly veterans had been asked "to relive, through endless reinvestigations and inquests, into events often more than 50 years ago in Northern Ireland".
He was heavily involved in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which is going through its final stages in Parliament.
The legislation was developed in response to legal claims made after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but does not cover Northern Ireland.
Sir Jeffrey, a former UDR soldier, said Troubles-related investigations have "disproportionately" focused on the British army and police.
"We have thousands of victims who are not having the opportunity to have their cases looked at and they are the victims whose loved ones were murdered by paramilitary terrorist organisations," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster yesterday.
He called on the government to address legacy matters.
"I won't stand by a narrative that suggests that you've got victims on one side and police and soldiers on the other," he said.
"There were far more soldiers and police officers who were killed during the Troubles than there were people who were killed by soldiers and police officers, we shouldn't lose sight of that."
Ulster Unionist Party MLA and former British army captain Doug Beattie said his party was opposed to "any form of amnesty".
He said such a move "will be transferred also to a terrorist".
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said it was "nonsense" to suggest that the Public Prosecution Service "would be pursuing either unfounded or vexatious prosecutions against its own former soldiers".
"We have Boris Johnson, it was yesterday in parliament, saying that he would bring in legislation to protect soldiers. What about the victims of those?" he said.
Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said his group does not support an amnesty.
"Of course, veterans who have been investigated in the past and who have been found to have no case to answer should not continue to be persecuted - that is wrong and should cease however where a member of the security forces committed criminal activities, they should be held accountable for it - that has consistently been our position," he said.
However, he said there was a clear difference between the security forces and paramilitary groups.
"There were legitimate security forces and there were terrorists," he said.
Meanwhile, a report has found that more than a third of army veterans living in Northern Ireland are likely to be suffering from PTSD.
A survey carried out by academics at Queen's University Belfast also found that a similar number reported problematic alcohol usage.
More than 1,300 veterans living in the north responded to the research about their mental health.
Almost 40 per cent of respondents met criteria for depression, while more than 32 per cent met the criteria for anxiety. Around 4 per cent said they had concerns about their gambling and 2.3 per cent said they considered themselves to be moderate to severe drug users.
