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Lord Chancellor gives green light to bill that will limit prosecution of veterans

Robert Buckland is said to be 'very in favour' of the new legislation  - Barcroft Media
Robert Buckland is said to be 'very in favour' of the new legislation - Barcroft Media

The Lord Chancellor has given the green light to a new war veterans Bill, despite a last-minute intervention by Army generals.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Robert Buckland has dismissed legal concerns raised by former officers including General Sir Nicholas Parker, who formerly held the title of Commander Land Forces in the Army.

They warned that bringing in a five-year limit for prosecutions against soldiers and veterans as part of the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill might be received badly by the international community.

“[Mr Buckland] didn't think they were valid criticisms of the bill," a source told this newspaper.

“He has dismissed the letter. Five years is a long time for a case to be made."

The legislation has been warmly welcomed by Iraq war veterans after thousands of troops remained under investigation many years after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

All of those cases, excluding one, have since been dropped due to a lack of evidence while the lawyer, Phil Shiner, who brought the cases was struck off for dishonesty.

Almost 3,500 criminal allegations - including murder and torture - were filed against soldiers serving in Iraq.

Iraq inquiries
Iraq inquiries

However Investigations by the Telegraph into Mr Shiner and the treatment of troops accused of war crimes prompted the Government in 2017 to shut down a specialist criminal unit - called the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat), set up in 2010. Ihat cost the taxpayer £57m but failed to bring a single prosecution.

A Justice source told this newspaper that Mr Buckland was “very in favour” of the Bill and that the UK “can't allow another Phil Shiner situation”.

Critics have said the Bill, which creates a "presumption against prosecution" against service personnel after five years, could make it harder to prosecute members of the armed forces for alleged offences overseas, excluding incidents in Northern Ireland.

Sir Nicholas, who co-signed a letter to Boris Johnson expressing concerns about aspects of the legislation, which will return to the Commons next week, said he was worried that “where it focuses on prosecutions, it is placing conditions that are unnecessary and risk us being seen in the international community as setting double standards”.

Johnny Mercer, the Veterans Minister who is leading the Bill, insisted proposed new legislation will protect service personnel from "vexatious" prosecutions and said the measures would bring "integrity to a process that has destroyed the lives of some of our finest people".

"People will be prosecuted after five years where evidence exists,” Mr Mercer told the Today programme.

"All we are doing is increasing the integrity of the process so that prosecutors have to consider whether it is in the public interest.”

Ihat inquiry timeline
Ihat inquiry timeline

Mr Mercer added that he had spent “four or five years dealing with people who have been through these investigations, not the generals at the top of the organisation, but, in fact the people who have been genuinely affected by this”.

“The reality for those on the ground, is that the judicialisation of warfare is now used after modern conflicts to try and change history and harass and hurt our people many years after conflict,” he said.

“We have a duty to protect them, and we will.”

Tobias Ellwood, Chairman of the Defence Select Committee, told The Telegraph he welcomed the legislation as “a clear step in the right direction”.

“The legacy of vexatious claims has caused significant stress and anxiety to both veterans and their families,” he said.

“It’s important soldiers on the battlefield believe their Government has their backs if they do their duty with courage and honour.”

Mr Ellwood added that it was right that military personnel were fully held to account if they fell “below the high standards for which our services are rightly proud off”.