Afghan troops witch-hunt was axed a year ago ... but nobody told veterans living in terror
THE Defence Secretary was last night accused of a cover-up after it emerged a £10million probe into Afghan veterans was secretly closed down a year ago.
Operation Northmoor was ended by the provost marshal heading the Royal Military Police investigation last summer, according to a defence source.
Ben Wallace has been accused of prolonging the ‘torment’ of Afghan veterans by keeping this secret from the public.
It took until yesterday, 11 months on and after an apparent leak, for Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, to admit no troops would be prosecuted.
John Healey, Labour’s defence spokesman, said it ‘beggared belief’ the Defence Secretary had not told Parliament about the decision.
‘The MoD have mishandled these Afghan allegations against our armed forces from start to finish,’ he added.
‘They’ve put veterans who served through unnecessary worry, with investigations that have taken too long and too often been flawed.
‘It beggars belief that the Operation Northmoor investigation may have been closed last summer but the Defence Secretary has not told Parliament or veterans who served in Afghanistan.
‘For these veterans, the MoD’s failure to resolve these cases will look like cock-up followed by cover-up. The secretary of state should make a full statement on this failure in the Commons.’
Robert Campbell, a former major who was investigated eight times over the death of an Iraqi, said: ‘If Northmoor was shut down but veterans were not told in order to have a facesaving measure for the MoD then that is appalling as that is another year of torment.
‘It appears to be another huge bungle by the MoD. Why wasn’t this announced when it was shut down? How many veterans have they left hanging? The MoD should be held accountable for the decades of wretched suffering they have put on innocent soldiers based on lies and rumours. Are they ever going to acknowledge their part in this racket?’
Former colour sergeant Trevor Coult, who campaigns for better treatment of veterans and who himself served in Afghanistan, said he had not been told of the closure of Operation Northmoor.
He added: ‘We would all have loved to have been told 11 months ago when this happened. We didn’t know if our names could suddenly be pulled out for investigation. It’s a weight lifted off our shoulders.’
At its height, the special police unit was examining 675 criminal allegations made by 159 separate complainants. Despite years of investigations – and £10million of taxpayers’ money – not one soldier will be prosecuted.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday that it was concluded last year that ‘all reasonable and proportionate lines of enquiry had been fully pursued’.
The investigation was shut down by the provost marshal after consultation with the Director of Service Prosecutions.
Under the previous defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, it emerged that fewer than ten cases were being looked at by Operation Northmoor. Last November – more than a year after that – the ministry refused to outline how many cases were being examined.
It failed to say that the figure was in fact zero and Operation Northmoor no longer existed.
In January, Mr Mercer gave an update to the House on Operation Northmoor and a separate Iraq inquiry, but failed to tell MPs that it had been closed down.
He said at the time: ‘Investigations under Operation Northmoor continued with independent external assurance into 2019.’
Earlier this month, the MoD failed to answer another request by the Mail over how many cases were being looked at.
Yesterday Mr Mercer, a former Army captain, announced Operation Northmoor had been completed and no charges would be brought. There was no mention of the fact the probe had been closed since last year.
Mr Mercer told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘This is another significant moment as we retake ground ceded over the years to those who seek to rewrite history and line their own pockets.’
WITCH-HUNT AGAINST OUR HEROES
‘Cock-up followed by cover-up’
A GREAT deal can be gleaned about a Government by the way it treats its war veterans. By that measure, ours is a disgrace. To decent people, the British soldiers who risked life and limb on the Afghan battlefields deserved our deep gratitude.
Yet they returned to face a new fight – as ministers allowed a legion of tank-chasing lawyers to accuse them vexatiously of war crimes. The misery heaped upon these blameless heroes was despicable.
Thankfully, the witch- hunt is over. operation Northmoor, the £10million military investigation into the claims, has finally closed. And how many brave soldiers, whose names were dragged through the mud, faced prosecution? Not one. The allegations were – surprise, surprise! – fabricated. That the Defence Secretary prolonged the torment by staying silent about the probe ending is also unpardonable. This Government boasts it abhors ‘lawfare’. If so, it must now halt the hounding of Troubles veterans over incidents that happened nearly 50 years ago. Until those old soldiers can sleep easy, the fine words are just hot air.