REVEALED: EVIDENCE THAT COULD WIN JUSTICE FOR MARINE

Mail uncovers bombshell findings censored by MoD

They say Marines were pushed to be too aggressive

Senior officers failed to spot mental strain and fatigue

A ROYAL Marine serving life for murder was utterly failed by senior officers, a secret report shows.

Leaked to the Mail yesterday, the dossier contains crucial evidence withheld from Alexander Blackman’s court martial.

Military chiefs solely blamed the sergeant for killing a mortally wounded Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan. But their report into the incident says:

Blackman’s overstretched unit was being pushed to be too aggressive;

His senior officer was ‘not prepared’ for the demands of the warzone;

Signs that Blackman’s unit was cracking up were missed by commanders.

The MoD had censored the admission of command failings in Helmand. But its report said: ‘Supervision by a commanding officer where Blackman and his men were based was insufficient to identify a number of warning signs that could have indicated they were showing evidence of moral regression, psychological strain and fatigue.’

Crucially, this shows that officers were

partly responsible for the extreme state Blackman was in when he pulled the trigger.

The report will now form a major plank of his battle for justice, which was debated in Parliament yesterday.

The Mail’s discovery of the full executive summary of the report yesterday was followed by ministers caving in to demands for Blackman’s lawyers to have confidential access to all its 50 pages. In a third boost for the 41-year- old, donations to his legal fund topped £250,000.

Blackman is the only British serviceman known to have been convicted of murder on a foreign battlefield. The militant he killed, in September 2011, had already been horrifically injured trying to storm a British outpost.

Blackman and his troop were at breaking point after a ‘tour from hell’ in Helmand province that had seen comrades tortured and killed.

But a Mail investigation has discovered that his court martial was blocked from hearing the truth about these mitigating circumstances.

Had this not been the case Blackman might have faced a manslaughter charge instead.

The executive summary of the Navy’s report into the shooting that was leaked to the Mail is marked ‘Official Sensitive’.

It lays bare how commanders were blind to the ‘psychological strain and fatigue’ endured by Blackman and his men.

This damning conclusion is blotted out with

‘Chain of command had failed’

censor’s black ink in the official version of the report released to the public yesterday morning. Earlier official disclosures had sought simply to blame Blackman alone, claiming he ‘let professional standards slip’.

But the Mail’s uncensored version reveals that one of Blackman’s commanding officers was ‘not prepared’ for the role, and there was ‘insufficient’ supervision of the men.

It also says: ‘A number of those involved in this incident both directly and indirectly felt that the chain of command had failed to provide them with adequate support before, during and after the court martial.’

Campaigners hope the findings of the report – codenamed Operation Telemeter – will help to have the case referred back to the appeal court, so a manslaughter option can be considered.

Defence minister Mark Lancaster announced the Telemeter climbdown yesterday, saying: ‘I share the concern of many for Mrs Blackman and I am clear the MoD must not stand in the way of a fair and just consideration of this case.

‘It is right we have undertaken this review to learn the lessons from this incident and I recognise the public interest in seeing the report in full. It is a full and frank assessment and contains detailed information about our tactics and operational security. It is my view its unredacted release into the public domain would breach our ability to conduct campaigns in the future.’

But he added: ‘If Sergeant Blackman’s defence team wish this report to be considered by the Criminal Case Review Commission, the MoD would provide them a confidential copy.’ His offer came after huge pressure from MPs, who yesterday held a special Westminster debate to highlight Blackman’s case.

In emotional speeches, watched from the public gallery by his wife, Claire, Blackman was described as an extraordinary man who had been pushed beyond breaking point by MoD failures.

Richard Drax, the Tory MP who secured the debate, said: ‘Sgt Blackman was, and is, no cold-blooded killer, just a man pushed to the very edge, a man sent to do a filthy job with his hands tied behind his back.

He added: ‘I am indebted to the Daily Mail for running such a wellresearched campaign. They have gone to incredible lengths to support Sergeant Blackman and this case.’

Yesterday, we revealed that the Telemeter probe was being held back – triggering fears the Marine was being ‘hung out to dry’ and made a scapegoat. We have also reported that a high-flying colonel resigned in disgust after being denied the chance to offer mitigating evidence at Blackman’s trial.