Armed Forces Bill

On the speech made by the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier), may I clear up something that he has repeated several times that is factually inaccurate? It is not for us to comment in any way on the merits of a case before the courts. However, it is quite wrong to suggest that the charges laid against Colonel Mendonca arise from the International Criminal Court Act 2001—they do not. They arise from section 29A of the Army Act 1955. The offences of which the soldiers are charged in the case pre-exist the International Criminal Court Act because inhumane treatment has been in English law since the adoption of the Geneva conventions into English law in 1957. Manslaughter has been in English law for decades. The fact that the offences were rolled into the International Criminal Court Act does not mean that they were introduced by that Act. I want to place the factual record before hon. Members because there has been repeated inadvertent misleading of the House on the matter.