Photo - Alan Mak MP speaks in Westminster Hall defending Iraq War veterans against spurious legal claims
Havant MP Alan Mak has thrown his support behind Britain’s Armed Forces veterans who served in Iraq, including Solent region sailors, soldiers and airmen, facing spurious legal claims.
Mak spoke during a debate in Parliament on Wednesday 27 January 2016 on the role of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), a UK-based body established by the last Labour Government in 20098 to investigate British service personnel accused of committing war crimes Iraq.
IHAT caseload has mushroomed from around 150 cases in 2009 to over 1500 today. Two London-based law firms – Leigh Day and Public Interest Lawyers – have attracted specific criticism for initiating a high volume of claims on behalf of Iraqi claimants against British Armed Forces personnel.
Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his "deep concern" that Iraq War veterans could face threats of prosecution due to "fabricated" or "unjustified" claims of misconduct.
Alan Mak said, “We send our troops abroad so we have a duty to protect them when they come home. Whilst we expect our Armed Forces to adhere to the rule of law on operations, we should ensure that we safeguard them from spurious legal claims.”
Mak added, “I welcome the Government’s clampdown on spurious claims which undermine military morale, affect recruitment, and tarnish the image of our Armed Forces whose service and sacrifice we must always honour.”
Mak said he supported the Prime Minister’s plan to ask the National Security Council to produce a clear, detailed strategy to stop former troops facing this torment.
Proposals backed by Mak and other MPs include
Imposing a strict time limit for the lodging of claims against British troops that would end the flood of new cases;
Banning those who have not lived in the UK for 12 months from claiming legal aid;
Preventing no-win no-fee deals used by law firms to tout for business; and
Reviewing the provision of legal aid revenues to firms under investigation for wrongdoing in relation to the Al-Sweady inquiry (where spurious claims against British servicemen were thrown out).
Armed Forces Minister & Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordant announced a new ministerial working group chaired jointly by her and Human Rights Minister Dominic Raab MP wlil tackle the behaviour of rogue law firms, including conditional fee arrangements, legal aid rules and disciplinary sanctions against lawyers who are abusing the system or attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Mordaunt said, “This issue and the solutions that we will bring forward are complex, but the objective is simple: we must protect human rights and we must protect those who defend them—our armed forces.”
She added, “Shortly the National Security Council will meet to decide on a number of options to address all the concerns [that hon. Members have expressed this afternoon]. Over the last eight months, extensive work has been going on in the MOD and the MOJ on these issues.”
Mak is a strong supporter of the Armed Forces and of a strong defence policy through which British values can be preserved. As a long-standing Royal British Legion volunteer, Mak has championed the plight of the country’s ex-servicemen and women and believes that we must do all we can to support service personnel, veterans and their families.
Alan is himself committed to the principles instilled by the Armed Forces, and was selected as one of 30 MPs taking part in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme – in his case, a year’s “work experience” with the Royal Navy. He will be joining the Royal Marines for cold weather training in Norway.