Army officer turned Tory MP says human rights ‘witch hunt’ will cost lives as he admits giving order to kill innocent civillians
AN ARMY officer-turned-MP has revealed his troops once killed four innocent civilians.
He has also warned that war crime witch hunts will one day see a British soldier die.
James Heappey, who wants the controversial Iraq Historical Allegations Team to be closed down, tells of the incident for the first time in an article for The Sun today.
The Tory MP says it highlights the pressure put on troops and how it is wrong to question their split-second judgments years later.
Twelve soldiers from the Rifles Regiment under his direct command fired at a speeding car which failed to stop at the scene of a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2005.
Mr Heappey, 35, the MP for Wells, said they feared another suicide attack.
The Afghans turned out to be innocent drug addicts, but the troops were cleared of any wrongdoing by military cops.
The MP — a young lieutenant at the time — said “the threat was perceived to be real, immediate and lethal”.
He warned it won’t be long before a young soldier hesitates over pulling the trigger for fear of being targeted by ambulance-chasing law firms.
He added: “His enemy will not hesitate and the outcome could be fatal.”
