Victory! Now show all our troops justice

THIs was a great day for British justice, the armed forces’ morale, the free Press – and the decency of Mail readers, whom we heartily thank for making it possible through their generosity.

When ‘Marine a’ sergeant alexander Blackman was convicted of murder for killing a mortally wounded Taliban insurgent in 2011, the defence ministry and top brass regarded his life sentence as a satisfactory end to an embarrassing episode. as far as they were concerned, his jailers could throw away the key.

This paper did not see it that way. Neither did legions of our readers from every walk of life, military and civilian, who contributed sums large and small to raise £800,000 for sgt Blackman’s appeal.

Instead, we saw a soldier with an exemplary record, who had cracked under unimaginable stress on the battlefield and committed an atrocity quite out of character, before being hung out to dry.

Indeed, the top brass behaved nothing short of contemptibly in seeking to cover up their incompetence and leadership failings – even suppressing a report on mitigating factors and stopping an officer from giving evidence for the defence.

We never condoned sgt Blackman’s action. But like his brave, loyal wife Claire, we felt a terrible wrong had been done to him at his court martial. at very least, his conviction should be reduced to manslaughter.

Yesterday, the Court Martial appeal Court agreed. Justice at last!

Yet the five judges’ unanimous decision – and, we pray, sgt Blackman’s early release – cannot end the matter. For during the three and a half years the former marine has been behind bars, the legal hounding of troops has continued apace.

This is in spite of the fact that ambulance-chasing human rights lawyers have been exposed as crooks, with the firm behind trumped-up charges against hundreds of servicemen shutting down, and its bent founder Phil shiner struck off.

Meanwhile, the blow to morale has caused a sharp dip in army recruitment and thousands of servicemen are retiring early.

as we celebrate justice for sgt Blackman, therefore, ministers must urgently review the military covenant to ensure heroes who risk all for us are treated fairly in return.

Yes, we still demand the highest standards of our soldiers. But in the name of sanity and justice, never again should a momentary lapse of judgment in the heat of battle be treated as calculated murder.