British military veteran groups have condemned a government attempt to remove immunity provisions from Northern Ireland legacy legislation, claiming it will expose former soldiers to “hounding” through the courts.

MPs are to vote on Wednesday on a motion to reverse a Tory-era law that granted conditional immunity to those accused of wrongdoing during the Troubles.

The government tabled what is known as a remedial order to remove the immunity clause after court challenges said it was incompatible with the European convention on human rights.

Keir Starmer told the House of Commons the change would fulfil legal obligations while protecting veterans from vexatious prosecutions. “Under the last government, they passed legislation which was struck down, leaving our veterans utterly exposed. We’re putting in place proper measures to protect them,” the prime minister said.