Armed Forces Bill

I confess that we have had some interesting discussions on the Labour Benches about the interpretation of different clauses. It is clear that even those who support the wording as it stands recognise that there is considerable scope for confusion in interpreting the provisions. The guidance notes do not necessarily support what the Under-Secretary says. The Government have several opportunities in the Bill’s remaining stages to table amendments to clarify the matter. However, it is important that we recognise the rights of serving men and women in the conflicts in which we have placed them. The point at which one crosses from legality to illegality is far from clear. We currently say that the occupation of Iraq is under a legal mandate of the United Nations. However, what do we do when, following the recent incidents in Basra—the part of Iraq in which the United Kingdom is operational—Mohammad al-Waili, the Governor of Basra, said that British security control prevented the provincial government from purging the security forces of militia members? That was evidenced by the fact that Iraqi security forces had to defend UK troops against attacks by Iraqi civilians. It is understandable that serving personnel in those circumstances start to question the point when we cross from a legal mandate to an illegal occupation. Our proposal does not give people a get-out-of-jail card. It does not mean that they can take whatever action they like, depending on the state of the weather or whether they have a hangover. We are considering whether there is a tariff system for the available punishments in the armed forces that relates to the current duties of our serving men and women and which makes sense to the general public.