Thank you for writing to me about the Overseas Operations Bill.
The Bill aims to provide greater certainty for Service personnel and veterans in relation to unfounded claims and the prosecution of historical events that occurred in the uniquely complex environment of armed conflict overseas. It does so by placing a statutory presumption against prosecution on service personnel after five-years have elapsed from the date of the alleged incident, with provisions for exceptional cases to be brought forward.
I am certainly in favour of the the general purpose of the 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.
However, the greatest disappointment which some constituents have rightly raised with me remains the complete lack of provision for those who served in Northern Ireland in the Bill and the circumstances that led to the Veterans Minister, Johnny Mercer, being sacked. Whilst it is very much welcome that the new Minister announced that a specific Bill relating to the Northern Ireland issue will be forthcoming, it is extremely disappointing that this has yet to happen. Especially given that two soldiers are due to go on trial this week for something that happened 49 years ago. I sincerely hope that this proposed Bill is brought forwards as soon as possible.
Regarding the Armed Forces Covenant the Bill seeks to further strengthen the Covenant by introducing a legal duty for relevant UK public bodies to have due regard to its principles. I will of course look closely at the final wording to ensure this duty is sufficiently robust to properly protect the rights of veterans under the Covenant.
I do welcome the funding announced in the 2021 Budget in support of veteran welfare. An additional £10 million will be invested in the Armed Forces Covenant Fund in 2021/22, which will deliver charitable projects and initiatives to support veterans’ mental health. This latest funding is in addition to the annual Government contribution of £10 million to the Covenant Fund and the £6 million announced in May 2020 to support the defence community during the coronavirus outbreak, including for serving personnel, veterans and their families.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
