London: British soldiers are the victims of a witch hunt, the Defence Secretary admits today as he promises that the criminal inquiries into troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will never be repeated in the future.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Sir Michael Fallon announces that the Government will set a time limit after which no new cases can be brought, in an attempt to bring an end to the controversial investigations. He also says a new British Bill of Rights will ensure that servicemen will no longer be subject to European human rights laws on the battlefield — and will never again be subjected to similar investigations. He also says that the Government will foot the legal bills of any soldier who is charged, after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that troops face having their wages docked to pay for their defence.
Addressing mounting anger over the scandal, Sir Michael describes some of the claims being investigated by the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) as “disturbing” and “deeply unfair”. He adds that the Government will introduce a “proper cut-off” to ensure troops no longer face the threat of being pursued by lawyers for years to come. He says: “It has been a witch hunt. And it has been intimidating — not just to our veterans but it has been intimidating to our soldiers today who worry that they too might find themselves being investigated 10 years from now.” Fallon was speaking amid growing public anger over troops facing criminal action.
This week The Daily Telegraph reported that three servicemen could become the first troops to face criminal charges as a result of Ihat’s inquiries. On Thursday this newspaper also disclosed that British troops were facing a fresh wave of criminal investigations into alleged abuse after the Ministry of Defence set up a new inquiry into their actions in Afghanistan. Family members of soldiers killed in action have started a petition urging the Government to end the inquiries immediately. The Defence Secretary does not go as far as that, saying that “serious allegations” must be investigated. But the introduction of a time limit for making claims could mean the end will be in sight for many soldiers still unsure whether they will face criminal investigation.
Fallon warns that the scale of “unfounded claims” has had a “dampening effect” of soldiers’ ability to operate in the field. He also says that troops facing criminal action over allegations they mistreated Iraqis and Afghans will not have to fund their own legal defences. “Let me just confirm that we will provide legal support without subsequent recovery of costs in all these cases,” he adds. He also condemned Russia yesterday and said the country’s warplanes had “almost certainly” carried out the air strike on a UN aid convoy that effectively spelt the end of the brief ceasefire in Syria “Instead of inventing more and more unbelievable excuses it is time Russia came clean,” he said. “If it was a mistake Russia should apologise. If it was deliberate then the Russian commanders should be turned in for prosecution.”
— The Daily Telegraph
