Thu 28 Nov 2019, 09:57 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour Party member
A Panorama special revealed the cover-up of war crimes committed by the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cover-up involved both the Army’s top brass and the Tory Government. Following allegations made against the Army, the then Labour Government, set up the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) in 2010. Around 100, mainly former police detectives, were employed to investigate alleged war crimes.
IHAT investigated the shooting of a policeman in the southern city of Basra. The fall of Saddam had left Iraq’s second largest city in a state of lawlessness and the role of the British army was to assist in the formation of a new police force. A soldier shot a policeman outside his home and claimed that he shot the officer after being fired on. His commanding officer filed a report that suggested another soldier had witnessed the incident supporting his account of events.
IHAT interviewed the witness and discovered that he hadn’t seen anything and he had only heard one shot, not two, as claimed by the commander’s report. IHAT officers recommended that both the soldier and commanding officer should be prosecuted. The Ministry of Defence refused to follow the request of IHAT investigators. In fact, not one of the 3400 complainants made against the Army resulted in a prosecution. IHAT detectives believe that illegal killings had taken place and were covered up by the highest levels within the military.
In 2017 the Tory Government closed down IHAT. A solicitor by the name Phil Shinner had paid someone to get clients for the purpose of suing the MoD. The term used is ‘ambulance-chasers’. This was the pretext for shutting down IHAT. Shinner’s conduct was dishonourable, but it should not detract from the fact that war crimes were committed and those responsible should be held to account. Theresa May was recorded making a hysterical speech which claimed that IHAT was some kind of left-wing plot. It’s news to me, that former police detectives are nests of left-wing agitators.
The recording of this programme is timely. The establishment wish to paint Corbyn as a threat to national security because he has a long history of calling out human rights abuses. We hope that continues. Labour should reinstate IHAT so that the perpetrators of war crimes do not go unpunished.
