We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to our armed forces, who perform exceptional feats in incredibly difficult circumstances to protect this country…
The government is strongly opposed to our armed forces personnel and veterans being subject to repeated investigations in connection with historical operations committed in the course of duty outside the UK, many years after the events in question.
On 21 May 2019, the Secretary of State for Defence announced her plans to take forward work to address this important issue, including a public consultation on proposed measures which it is believed can be enacted in a manner which is consistent with obligations under domestic and international law, while providing genuine benefits to our personnel.
The survey looks to support the need for Serving Personnel and Veterans to be given additional legal protection whilst on operations. It also covers how long members of the Armed Forces can expect to be prosecuted for their actions on operations outside the UK.
Additionally, it covers the issue of charging members of the Armed Forces with murder when they cause death during the course of their duties when initially defending themselves. The suggestion is the lesser charge of manslaughter should be used when appropriate.
The survey takes 30 mins and comments are requested but not required throughout. It can be accessed via this link.
The deadline is 11.59hrs on 13 October 2019. The consultation was started in July 2019 following the Secretary of State’s Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons, which is available to read via this link.
Additional information about the survey is available here.
