Foreigners face ban from using legal aid to hound our troops
... but it’s too late to stop more than 1,000 Iraq claims
FOREIGNERS will be banned from claiming legal aid to sue soldiers in UK courts under a crackdown on ‘ambulancechasing’ law firms.
David Cameron has ordered action after becoming ‘very concerned’ at the hounding of British troops who fought in the Middle East.
Yet the proposals will not affect the Iraq Historic Allegations Team inquiry – because the £57million probe has already been funded by Government.
On top of this, cases that have already been given legal aid are expected to continue, and others could be brought before the changes are made.
Taxpayers’ money is being used by solicitors to launch more than 1,100 compensation claims on behalf of alleged victims of mistreatment by British troops. But now Downing Street wants to introduce a ‘residence test’ to restrict overseas nationals from receiving public money for civil claims until they have lived in Britain for at least a year.
The Government is determined to act amid mounting consternation that lawyers have been trawling for clients by knocking on doors in Iraq to bring cases against the Ministry of Defence.
A source said Mr Cameron wanted the laws to be in place by the summer, as there are fears the controversy is damaging morale and recruitment in the Armed Forces.
Currently there are no nationality or residence restrictions on legal aid funding, which leaves Britain with an annual bill of around £2billion. The proposals would also bar illegal immigrants from using public cash to wage endless appeals against deportation.
The latest move follows a public outcry over war crime allegations made against British soldiers in the wake of the Al-Sweady public inquiry, which reported in December 2014. The five-year probe, which cost £31million, exonerated British troops of claims they went on a torture and killing spree after a 2004 battle in southern Iraq.
The most serious allegations were ‘wholly without foundation and entirely the product of deliberate lies, speculation and ingrained hostility’, the inquiry found.
Two law firms – Leigh Day and Public Interest Lawyers, which is led by Birmingham-based Phil Shiner – were heavily criticised over their role in the Al-Sweady Inquiry. They have been paid an estimated £6million for representing overseas clients and deportation-dodgers in the past five years.
However Leigh Day now faces being struck off after it emerged the firm shredded a key document which could have stopped the investigation.
Meanwhile some British soldiers are facing multiple probes over incidents during the Iraq War dating back more than a decade.
These include a military investigation and court martial; the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, which looks at cases brought by PIL or Leigh Day; Iraq Fatalities Investigations, whose functions are similar to those of a coroner’s inquest; the International Criminal Court in the Hague; and civil claims in the High Court from bereaved families.
Up to 280 soldiers who served in Iraq have been sent letters by investigators asking them about their role in incidents years ago. It is feared that dozens of war veterans could face murder charges.
The scandal of legal aid for foreign nationals was also highlighted by the Daily Mail two years ago, when an Ethiopian farmer was able to use taxpayers’ money to sue the British Government for sending aid to his homeland.
The 33-year-old – who was granted anonymity – successfully argued foreign aid helped the regime inflict ‘brutal treatment’ on thousands of farmers driven from their land.
In July 2014, human rights judges sparked anger by throwing out plans to introduce a ‘residence test’. To the fury of ministers, the High Court said such a measure would be ‘unlawful and discriminatory’ and pandered to prejudice.
In a highly unusual move, Lord Justice Moses shot down the laws before they had even come into force. Banning foreigners from accessing legal aid breached their rights to a fair trial and not to face discrimination, he said.
But in November last year the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, saying that a residence test was lawful. Legal charity Public Law Project is considering whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Legal aid minister Shailesh Vara said: ‘It is only fair that aid goes to those who have a connection with the United Kingdom.’
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