UK: Bill to protect British soldiers from prosecution criticised by top military judge
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Source: MoD
The UK’s top military judge has criticised controversial legislative proposals to protect former British soldiers from “vexatious claims” relating to their actions overseas.
Judge Jeffrey Blackett, Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, raised “significant concerns” about the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill in a recent letter sent to senior government figures, The Times reports.
The judge warned that protecting soldiers from prosecution for domestic offences “will likely encourage police and prosecutors to focus on war crimes, rather than domestic crimes”.
He also said provisions of the bill introducing a statutory presumption against prosecution after five years since the alleged offence “would encourage an accused person to frustrate the progress of investigation past the five-year point”.
The letter was sent to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, veterans minister Johnny Mercer, the head of the military, and the director of the Service Prosecuting Authority, and Mr Wallace is expected to respond to Judge Blackett soon.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence insisted that the bill “bill strikes the right balance between victims’ rights and access to justice, as well as fairness to those who defend this country”.
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