British Sniper Faces Legal Probe After Shooting Insurgent...

[Psychobilly freakout]

Instead of holding our soldiers to account it should be Blair.

Our soldiers are sent out to war to risk death.

Exactly this, none of them would even have set foot in those god forsaken hell hole countries if it was not for Bush & Blair.....

Shows how wrong everything is, blame from the bottom up, how wrong it should start at the cause and the top....

How does Blair sleep at night with countless British, foreign and civilian lives lost.....

This why I am apathetic towards politics be they Labour, Tory none of them are accountable for what they do to this or other countries..

Heartbreaking, Soul destroying

 

[fat old seagull]

I'd like to bring it to the attention of all BHA supporters .... that the world's gone feckin mad.

I'm surprised the sniper got on off, he must surely have been startled by the ragheads warning of a grenade about to come his way!

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Is this story for real?

 

[symyjym]

Exactly this, none of them would even have set foot in those god forsaken hell hole countries if it was not for Bush & Blair.....

Shows how wrong everything is, blame from the bottom up, how wrong it should start at the cause and the top....

How does Blair sleep at night with countless British, foreign and civilian lives lost.....

This why I am apathetic towards politics be they Labour, Tory none of them are accountable for what they do to this or other countries..

Heartbreaking, Soul destroying

That stupid war will always be used against us by Islam. Blair was bad and then comes Cameron encouraging regime change and backing the extreme militants to topple leaders.

All Islam wants to do now is play the victim of oppression and take over the world whether they hold moderate or extreme views. All our governments have done is feed sugar to the cancer and it is Britain and our soldiers that gets the blame.

 

[alfredmizen]

So much shit in that 'account' it's hard where to begin.

What exactly are you taking issue with in the account ?

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Is this story for real?

Yes and there is more...



Iraq witch-hunt hits a new low: British soldier threatened with arrest if he fails to answer questions on doorstep (without a lawyer)
20-Jan-2016
Detectives from a taxpayer-funded probe that is investigating British troops for alleged crimes during the Iraq War threatened to arrest a soldier if he refused to co-operate, it was claimed last night.
The soldier was quizzed on his doorstep by two ex-police officers over an incident he was involved in a decade ago – but when he refused to answer their questions he was told he could be arrested.

That threat is believed to be just one of the ‘tricks’ being used by a team of 145 investigators working for the Iraq Historical Allegations Team (IHAT) to persuade soldiers to talk. They are tasked with filtering the claims and also quizzing former and serving soldiers.
Typically, two detectives turn up on the doorsteps of veterans and hand them a letter asking them to give evidence about their involvement and the role of other soldiers.
But the investigators – many of whom are ex-police officers paid up to £33 an hour – are then ‘exploiting’ the opportunity to quiz the soldiers on the spot, without offering them any legal advice, it was claimed.

In cases where the troops were not at home, even their wives and girlfriends have been ‘harassed’ about the incidents, it can be revealed.
Serving soldiers have also disclosed how they were hounded at their barracks by detectives who were let on to the base by commanding officers.
The investigators, who can earn up to £1,300 a week, also allegedly introduced themselves by their former police rank, even though they are civilians, to try to get immediate answers from soldiers.
They did not inform the soldiers that they were able to seek legal advice, nor did they assess their mental well-being before questioning them, it is claimed.

A source said: ‘They threatened one soldier on the door with arrest if he didn’t answer questions.
‘They are making very dire threats to persuade people to talk to them, and they are certainly not being given access to solicitors. In many cases they are not checking if the soldiers are medically fit for questioning.

‘IHAT arrive at the barracks, introducing themselves as a detective chief superintendent and make out they are a policeman.
‘And the soldiers often don’t know if they are being questioned as a witness or as a suspect.
‘Some of these soldiers are currently deemed unfit for duty because of the psychological trauma they’ve gone through, yet they are deemed fit enough to sit through an inquiry.’
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘[The investigators] should be more closely supervised – they shouldn’t be trying to trick soldiers.
‘I’ve spoken to soldiers who have said the investigators have pretended to need to see them directly to give them the letters.
‘They’ve told how their families have been harassed, which has created an additional stress.
‘These are honourable men, until proven otherwise. The fact they will respond to orders should not be exploited like this.’

A spokesman for the group UK Veterans – One Voice said: ‘Their methods should be questioned. They pounce on people and they do not have the power to threaten them.
'The manner in which IHAT are conducting the investigations is very questionable. They are very heavy-handed.’
Details of the tactics came after it emerged the £57.2million IHAT probe is looking into more than 1,500 allegations of abuse and unlawful killing.
Up to 280 soldiers have been hounded already and thousands more could be dragged before inquiries into incidents that occurred more than a decade ago.

Soldiers – many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder – have faced up to five investigations into one incident alone and have spoken of how they have been ‘hung out to dry’ by the Army.
Lawyers are also set to mount more than 1,100 compensation claims, which could cost taxpayers tens of millions.
There are fears that the relentless pursuit by law firms to prosecute war heroes could damage morale in the military and affect future recruitment.
An IHAT spokesman said last night that it had not been made aware of any complaints about how its personnel conduct their investigations.
‘High standards of professionalism are demanded of the investigators recruited to the IHAT team’, she said.

A British sniper is under investigation for killing an Iraqi insurgent who was about to throw a grenade at a military base – because he did not shout out a warning.
He faces scrutiny over the death even though it was the man’s third attempt to kill and maim British soldiers.
The soldier – who is still serving and spoke to a military pressure group on the condition of anonymity – received a letter informing him that details of the incident had been passed to the Iraq Historical Allegations Team, which was probing the death, it is claimed.
Yesterday, details of the incident remained unclear, and the account from campaigners UK Veterans – One Voice could not be verified. But it is understood that the man contacted the group for advice on how to respond to the investigation. In an account of his case published on the UK Veterans – One Voice website, it says an insurgent was shot dead while trying to kill troops by attacking a ‘major UK base’.
A former soldier who interviewed him wrote how the same insurgent tried to target British soldiers three weeks in a row by firing a rocket propelled grenade. The first time the grenade fell short of the base, but the second time the base was hit, although no one was hurt. Fire was not returned on either occasion.
The day before the third attack, a patrol including the sniper was sent out from the base to hide. When the man later appeared and raised his weapon to fire it, the sniper responded and shot him. The account said: ‘No warning was required under the rules of engagement.’

 

[5mins-from-amex]

My wife works for Combat Stress which is a charity to help veterans with there mental health, the way some of our ex service men and women are treated in this country is disgusting.

 

[atfc village]

So basically become a terrorist ,Kill ,injure and maim. Get caught get a huge sentence,then wait for a future Goverment to do a deal with Isis or whoever is Public enemy no 1 at the time and get released as part of the agreement. Wouldn't happen in The Uk would it.

 

[sir albion]

I was listening to this on lbc yesterday and it's pretty unreal to be honest.
Apparently we have 1500 serviceman in a similar position and we've spent 10's of millions of tax payers money to lawyers etc and not one has been found guilty yet.
Certainly should not be dealt with this way and should be a military case and nothing else....Its clear many people are amazing a fortune for nothing.

 

[Diablo]

This must surely be Jeremey Corbyn's fault!!

In Jeremy Corbyn`s Army...Sniper would not be allowed to have bullets for his rifle so a shouted warning would be all he could do....

 

[Gary1]

its called war and whether we should be there or not is not a question for the troops on the ground
you carry arms and are prepared to use them and get injured or killed ............thats war

Yep - when are the idiots in this country going to realise you can't have a nice friendly war. People get killed get used to it.

 

[pastafarian]

In Jeremy Corbyn`s Army...Sniper would not be allowed to have bullets for his rifle so a shouted warning would be all he could do....

Im surprised you have even allocated a rifle.......seems a bit optimistic.
A Peoples Army firing off strongly worded letters to those that want us dead seems to be Corbyns way forward

 

[5mins-from-amex]

Rimmer does a good impression of Jeremy Corbyn in this...

https://youtu.be/5WgUktfdDy4

 

[Bruntburger]

About time the army said that's enough and went on strike. Let the politicians fight these wars they create.

 

[happypig]

Given that it's a supersonic bullet, the terrorist's last moments would have been something like:
1. THUD ! Top of head removed like the crust of a pie.
2. Faint cry of "put down the RPG or I'll shoot"
3. Distant bang.

Which is fine with me.

 

[BensGrandad]

In a war isnt it a case of shoot or be shot, kill or be killed. No place for dithering about, act swiftly must be the motto.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

This why ISIS and other groups laugh at us and think we are weak. We are

 

[GT49er]

Two questions about this IHAT mob .............
Number 1, who is paying them? - because I for one would be feckin' annoyed if it transpires that their funding comes from me as a taxpayer.
Secondly, as they seem pretty good at haranguing and bullying troops on their doorstep, wouldn't they be better employed doing this to ISIS fighters in Syria? Now, if my taxpayer contributions could help pay for their air fares.............

 

[Pickledegg]

It's disgusting what these lawyers are doing just to make a quick buck! How do they sleep at night chasing these guys!

Having served over 20 years in the military what our front line troops went through and still go through is undescribable! PTSD is and will be a massive issue for years to come.

Having to make snap decisions under so much pressure is something most people will never have to encounter and we should all be grateful for that!

The British Military, although cut to the bare bones, is still the finest military in the world and does a fantastic job wherever they are sent.

I can only imagine that these so called 'lawyers' are using the 'Rules of Engagement' and 'minimum force' as a way to take this farce forward!

Let's hope that Dave and his boys do the right thing and stop this in its stride!

 

[melias shoes]

What next a big sign with an arrow pointing down saying 'Warning Snipers operating in this area'

Yep and wearing a full hi visibility suit, just to make sure he can be seen, and having to fill in a risk assessment form.