Historical war crimes: an amnesty for British soldiers?

Defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has promised to introduce a ‘presumption against prosecution’ on historical prosecutions for military veterans. Samira Shackle looks back at the collapse of the investigation into abuse allegations in Iraq, while Conservative MP Johnny Mercer argues that soldiers have been unfairly hounded. Also today: Emma John looks ahead to the Cricket World Cup

Earlier this month, the new defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, promised to introduce a “presumption against prosecution” on historical allegations of abuse for military veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else around the world – with the exception of Northern Ireland.

Journalist Samira Shackle has previously investigated the collapse of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team for the Guardian and describes how many of those cases were thrown out after a lawyer, who acted for many of the alleged victims, was found guilty of misconduct and struck off as a solicitor.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2EFUuO4

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