Armed Forces Bill

I want to pick up on the hon. Gentleman’s point that Trooper Williams looked to his commanding officer as his god, but the fact remains that he was let down, because he was then put into the civilian system. That is the point that this measure seeks to address. For precisely the reason that the hon. Gentleman gave about civilian judges and juries having no idea what it is like in the heat of battle, that is the last thing that we want our armed forces to have to do, as every soldier, sailor and airman to whom I spoke said. We are not talking about getting leave from barracks; we are talking very serious offences here. The hon. Gentleman referred to snap decisions, but it is not healthy that snap decisions should be made in such serious cases, which could end up in the civilian courts.