Labour MPs defy whip to oppose Veterans Bill
THREE Labour MPs have left junior roles after defying the whip to oppose a controversial Bill championed by Veterans Minister and Westcountry MP Johnny Mercer.
The MPs went against instructions to abstain on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which Tory ministers insist is aimed at protecting armed forces personnel from “vexatious prosecutions”, party sources said.
Mr Mercer, a former soldier and the MP for Plymouth Moor View, has been pressing for the legislation for some time, insisting it was intended to give protection to serving soldiers and military veterans, a number of whom have been pursued by lawyers for alleged breaches of the law while serving their country.
Labour backed the Bill and a Labour source said: “Anyone who wanted to vote against (the) whip was told they would have to resign.”
Nadia Whittome was in the post of Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), along with Beth Winter and Olivia Blake. Ms Whittome told ITV’s Peston on Wednesday: “Given that all the major human rights organisations, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and given that even the British Legion and veterans themselves opposed this Bill, and these are all arguments that our front bench made today, we don’t agree with this Bill. And we think it’s anti-veteran, it’s anti-human rights. It would, effectively, decriminalise torture, and that’s why I voted against it. We already have laws that prevent vexatious claims.”
The Government says the proposed legislation will ensure service personnel will be protected from “vexatious claims and endless investigations”.
Ministers said it seeks to limit false and historical allegations arising from overseas operations by introducing a statutory presumption against prosecution, making it exceptional for personnel to be prosecuted five years or more after an incident.
To over-ride the presumption, the consent of the Attorney General will be required, and the prosecutor must weigh up the “adverse impact of overseas operations on service personnel” and, where there has been no compelling new evidence, the public interest in cases coming to a “timely conclusion”.
But campaigners and some senior military figures have warned the legislation will create a presumption against prosecution of torture and other serious crimes, except rape and sexual violence.
Mr Mercer told Wednesday night’s debate on the Bill: “This legislation is not about providing an amnesty or putting troops above the law, but protecting them from lawyers intent on rewriting history to line their own pockets.
“It will put an end to lawfare and make sure personnel and veterans are not repeatedly and indefinitely called upon to give evidence about events that happened years ago. Today we are one step closer to making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.”
‘It will put an end to lawfare and make sure veterans are not repeatedly called on to give evidence’