‘No more of the poisonous lies that plagued our forces for a decade’
International Criminal Court. But it has been mired in controversy after ‘tank-chasing’ lawyers deluged it with vexatious claims.
Sir Michael writes: ‘We are now close to putting behind us most of the poisonous lies which have plagued our armed forces over the past decade.’
Remaining Ihat cases will be cut to include only those based on credible allegations. Thought to number about 20, they will be handed over to military police, saving taxpayers millions. Most will be dealt with by next year.
The vast majority of Afghan cases being investigated by Operation Northmoor will also be thrown out.
A defence committee report, which was rushed out yesterday, said Ihat had become a seemingly ‘unstoppable self-perpetuating machine, deaf to the concerns of the armed forces, blind to their needs, and profligate with its own resources’.
The unit was handed a 3,668 allegations of murder, torture and wrongdoing by British troops since 2010, when it was set up.
The vast majority were from the now defunct firm Public Interest Lawyers, led by disgraced lawyer Mr Shiner.
Despite a 145-strong team investigating the cases for nearly seven years, there has not been one prosecution.
But hundreds of soldiers – many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and who have already been cleared by military police – were hounded relentlessly.
Sir Michael says Mr Shiner was able to ‘exploit vulnerabilities in our legal system’,
‘Exploit our legal system’
exacerbated by EU court rulings and ‘fuelled by legal aid intended for genuine causes’.
Ihat was originally due to finish its work at the end of 2019 – to the tune of £57million – but will now all but wrap up this year.
Sir Michael will also wind up Operation Northmoor, which is examining 675 allegations of abuse in Afghanistan. Many of those claims come from human rights firm Leigh Day, which faces a disciplinary tribunal later this year.
Sir Michael and the Justice Secretary Liz Truss are pressing ahead with further measures to deal with the problem of abuse allegations ‘once and for all’.
The Government announced last year that the UK would derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights when it comes to future wars to stop lawyers mounting ‘industrial-scale’ claims.
But Sir Michael says other measures would be put in place to protect veterans. Addressing mounting claims against veterans – many in their 60s and 70s – who served in Northern Ireland, the Defence Secretary says many served with ‘great bravery and distinction’.
He says it is ‘wrong’ that historic investigations into Army killings during the Troubles have almost entirely focused on them rather than terrorists. Some 90 per cent of the killings are thought to have been committed by terrorists.
‘We will tackle this serious imbalance and ensure a fair, balanced and proportionate approach to investigating the past,’ he adds.
Last month the Mail revealed that ministers were pushing for a bill that would put an age cap on suspects and force police to treat historic cases from Northern Ireland with ‘proportionality’.
Under the proposals, there would be an upper age limit on those who could be investigated, a five-year time limit on how long an inquiry can last, and a limit on maximum sentences for anyone found guilty.
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