Thank you for contacting me about the Overseas Operations Bill.
I am not opposed to the general purpose of the Overseas Operations Bill, which is designed to give service personnel and veterans the protections needed in some prosecution cases. This is a positive and necessary step. There remains a need for our Armed Forces personnel to be protected from the vexatious claims and repeated investigations that so many have suffered in recent years. There are measures in the bill designed to ensure that the most serious allegations will be investigated regardless of the five year limits involved.
However, I agree that victims of torture in particular need to be confident that their allegations will be taken with the utmost seriousness. That is why I voted for my colleague David Davis MP’s amendment that would have ensured that allegations of torture were not covered in the scope of this legislation.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.