Debate contribution: Soldier F: Not Guilty Verdict
Debate contribution by Mr Timothy Gaston on .
- MLA
- Mr Timothy Gaston
- Party at the time
- Traditional Unionist Voice
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Soldier F: Not Guilty Verdict
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5212682
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I welcome the acquittal of the veteran known as "Soldier F". There are fundamental questions of why the veteran was put through that ordeal, given the self-evident failings of the evidence. The first decision taken by the Public Prosecution Service to decline prosecution was, as the verdict demonstrates, correct. The later decision to proceed was completely wrong and only happened because of political pressure rather than any realistic prospect of conviction. Having pushed for Soldier F to stand trial, it now behoves those who demanded the trial to respect the verdict, including the MP for Foyle, Mr Eastwood. He must admit and recognise that Soldier F is now unquestionably an innocent man and does not have a blot on his record. I welcome the vindication of a soldier who has borne the weight of years of scrutiny, uncertainty and the stigma of accusation. Secondly, I ask the Assembly to put emotion aside and reflect soberly on the process. If evidence is clearly inadequate, prosecution should not proceed. Thirdly, I call upon all parties to accept the verdict and allow Soldier F to now live in peace. I am shocked that some have sought to attack the fact that Soldier F had his legal bills paid. That criticism has invariably come from those who had nothing to say about the £200 million cost of the Bloody Sunday inquiry. In many cases, it also comes from those who continue to defend and justify the bomb in Enniskillen, where 12 innocents were blown up while remembering the sacrifice for freedom in two world wars. There has been bloody Monday, when 10 Protestants were lined up and shot on the side of the road at Kingsmills; bloody Tuesday, when 11 soldiers were murdered in the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings; bloody Wednesday, when six off-duty soldiers were murdered at a fun run; bloody Thursday, when nine RUC officers were murdered in the Newry mortar attack; Bloody Friday, when 22 bombs exploded in 80 minutes, murdering nine and injuring 130; and bloody Saturday, when the IRA bombed the Abercorn restaurant, leaving two dead and over 100 horrifically injured. Yet Sinn Féin pollutes the air —
— in the Chamber. My goodness, it knows hypocrisy, and it knows no bounds.
375 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism
Jev’s structured answers met every documented threshold for flagging as culture-war activity.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.71 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Dog-whistle messaging (0.61).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.77).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- All thresholds for flagging were met.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.30 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.45 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.06 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.61 | Yes |
| Controversy escalation | 0.54 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.30 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.71 | Above flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.10 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.13 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.77 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.67 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.24 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.08 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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