The treatment of Dennis Hutchings who served in Northern Ireland in the 1970s has brought the scandal of historic allegations against veterans into the public arena in recent weeks. Mr Hutchings, a 77 year old grievously ill man now finds himself facing a repeat prosecution for a case going back decades.
If the bond of trust between the Government and our armed forces - which is so critical to our national security - is to be maintained, our service men and women must know that the state is on their side. It is imperative that the Government acts urgently to end the repeated and spurious prosecution of individuals who have served and will serve, not just Northern Ireland, but in all theatres of conflict including the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.
You can watch my full speech on this here.
This petition urges the Government to legislate for a statute of limitation to protect those who have served their country honourably and have been cleared of any wrongdoing. I will be presenting this public petition to the House of Commons on the 25th of June (during Armed Forces week).
Please sign now to help protect our veterans.
UPDATE:
I presented this petition on 25th June 2018 during Armed Forces Week - you can watch this here. Thank you to all those that signed my petition, every signature helps give more weight to this issue, bringing it front and centre for the Government. You can check for updates on this here.
Protection for British Service Personnel Petition
To the House of Commons.
The petition of residents of West Oxfordshire,
Declares that urgent action must be taken by the Government to protect British Military veterans from spurious historic allegations and repeated prosecutions.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges HM Government to immediately legislate for the Statute of Limitations that will prevent British Military veterans of the conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas combat operations suffering spurious and vexatious historic allegations and repeated prosecutions.
