BBC News Published image captionJohnny Mercer left the government over the treatment of veterans A former veterans minister has said he accepts any statute of limitations for alleged crimes during Northern Ireland's Troubles may need to apply to paramilitaries as well as soldiers. Johnny Mercer left the government over the treatment of veterans. He said Boris Johnson failed to deliver on promises to protect ex-soldiers who served in NI from prosecution. On Monday he told the BBC he was open to a statute of limitations also applying to paramilitaries. Earlier in April, Northern Ireland's Veterans Commissioner Danny Kinahan suggested if a statute of limitations was introduced it would "have to be for everyone".