£35m ‘cash-eating’ witch-hunt

THE investigation into alleged abuse by British soldiers in Iraq was labelled a ‘taxpayer money-eating machine’ last night after costs hit £35million.

Tory MPs believe the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) should be ‘immediately wound up’, with the remaining cash in its £5 .2million budget spent on helping veterans and other projects.

Critics say the team amounts to no more than a legal witch-hunt against British troops. Earlier this month Theresa May raised concerns over the ‘industrial scale’ of the claims.

The inquiry has already dismissed or is closing more than half of the 3,300 allega- tions submitted so far, which include unlawful killing and other mistreatment by British soldiers in Iraq.

The latest figures, revealed following a Parliamentary question, show that of 1 6 investigations completed or nearing completion so far, just four have prompted any further action.

Two were passed to the Director of Service Prosecutions, who did not prosecute in either case. Another was referred to the RAF Police, while the fourth resulted in the soldier receiving a £3,000 fine. Tory MP and former soldier Johnny Mercer called Ihat ‘a self-financing taxpayer money-eating machine that has grown disastrously beyond anyone’s control’.

‘If this money had instead been invested into creating a Department for Veterans’ Affairs, we would now be looking at making the military covenant a reality for every serviceman and women and their families,’ he said. ‘We have a long way to go in our relationship with our military in the United Kingdom today.’

An Ihat spokeswoman insisted the inquiry remained within its overall budget figure of £5 .2million and was on course to complete its work by December 2019.