Head of the Army demands review into investigators hounding ‘vulnerable’ soldiers over ‘war offences’
General Sir Nick Carter said troops should be spared the “trauma and long-term distress” of being quizzed
THE head of the Army has demanded a review into investigators hounding “vulnerable” troops over alleged war offences.
General Sir Nick Carter sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence and senior commanders yesterday and said a “significant number” of allegations made against soldiers were “not credible”.
He added the troops should be spared the “trauma and long-term distress” of being quizzed by investigators unless absolutely necessary.
Sir Nick, Chief of the General Staff, sent the letter after the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) began investigating nearly 1,500 allegations of mistreatment and unlawful killing of Iraqis.
And a separate inquiry, Operation Northmoor, is looking at more than 550 allegations of abuse in Afghanistan dating back to 2005.
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The Government said yesterday that it would unveil new legislation to protect troops from “spurious” claims of misconduct.
Under the new policy, parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) used to bring many claims from Iraq and Afghanistan could be suspended during future conflicts.