A new RUSI commentary and a powerful essay by Dr Bob Parr approach the same problem from different directions. Together, they reveal the scale of the challenge facing British veterans.
What has happened to professional soldiers that took the Queens shilling and served with honour? From the outside looking in, it is a scandal. I see soldiers persecuted for their duty to the crown, however the politicians and law agencies also played there part in the operations and seem to be immune to similar prosecution. There is an hierarchy of decision making and it seems to me that the blame game goes to the bottom of the food chain, where it should be at the top. The difference is about responsibility which soldiers are trained to be responsible the rest just use obfuscation to avoid it. It’s not going to get those recruiting figures up. Or is this the plan to destroy the defence of armed forces and show the world how stupid we are. This I believe is political and no matter how much the PM says what we are doing, it’s all false. Enough of me this rant is over.
The motto of the ECHR should be, “Rubbish in, rubbish out.” In parallel, the idea that if you sat a chimpanzee at a piano for long enough, it would eventually become a star in Beethoven’s first Piano Concerto is preposterous. Anyway, if you have the stamina, Jonathan Sumption’s Spectator article, equating pickpockets and the Taliban, 'Judgment call: the case for leaving the ECHR', is on this link https://spectator.com/article/judgment-day-the-case-for-leaving-the-echr/ If you don’t want to read it, three extracts:
# “One point should be made at the outset and never overlooked: we do not need the European Convention on Human Rights in order to protect human rights. Many of the rights which the convention proclaims were part of British law long before the convention was conceived. There is nothing in it that we cannot enact by ordinary domestic legislation. We can have whatever rights we want if there is a sufficient democratic mandate for them. The real purpose of the convention is to make us accept rights which we may not want and for which there maybe no democratic mandate.”
# “the ECHR is the sole judge of its own jurisdiction. It can and does help itself to whatever additional powers and jurisdictions it likes.”
# “the court (Strasbourg) claimed jurisdiction over British military operations overseas in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. At one point it created havoc by ruling that there was no right to detain captured Taliban fighters as prisoners of war without complying with regulations designed for policemen turning in pickpockets at European police stations.”
It has become a complete can of worms that lawyers, likely as not, can only make worse. an example is in the newsletter; "Under the Bill, the ICIR must report annually to both governments (London and Dublin) simultaneously. The Secretary of State must consult the Government of Ireland before making regulations governing the destruction of ICIR records."
Hello happy folks! Yes, Bob's written piece addresses the fundamental questions that stall this issue. BUT. The Outfit in London led by Super Starmer ! Do not Inspire any faith, hope, trust or support within the Veteran Community! The current prime minister in the Labour Government is a Liar and a thief! He's stolen the Hope from Veterans' and their families. Who would fight for a man who doesn't support the Protective Shield that defends the Country and the Veterans that have already served? Shakespeare could not have written a better farce! Starmer you may have destroyed your own integrity but you won't destroy the power of rightness that burns in every veterans ❤️ ! 💪
What has happened to professional soldiers that took the Queens shilling and served with honour? From the outside looking in, it is a scandal. I see soldiers persecuted for their duty to the crown, however the politicians and law agencies also played there part in the operations and seem to be immune to similar prosecution. There is an hierarchy of decision making and it seems to me that the blame game goes to the bottom of the food chain, where it should be at the top. The difference is about responsibility which soldiers are trained to be responsible the rest just use obfuscation to avoid it. It’s not going to get those recruiting figures up. Or is this the plan to destroy the defence of armed forces and show the world how stupid we are. This I believe is political and no matter how much the PM says what we are doing, it’s all false. Enough of me this rant is over.
The motto of the ECHR should be, “Rubbish in, rubbish out.” In parallel, the idea that if you sat a chimpanzee at a piano for long enough, it would eventually become a star in Beethoven’s first Piano Concerto is preposterous. Anyway, if you have the stamina, Jonathan Sumption’s Spectator article, equating pickpockets and the Taliban, 'Judgment call: the case for leaving the ECHR', is on this link https://spectator.com/article/judgment-day-the-case-for-leaving-the-echr/ If you don’t want to read it, three extracts:
# “One point should be made at the outset and never overlooked: we do not need the European Convention on Human Rights in order to protect human rights. Many of the rights which the convention proclaims were part of British law long before the convention was conceived. There is nothing in it that we cannot enact by ordinary domestic legislation. We can have whatever rights we want if there is a sufficient democratic mandate for them. The real purpose of the convention is to make us accept rights which we may not want and for which there maybe no democratic mandate.”
# “the ECHR is the sole judge of its own jurisdiction. It can and does help itself to whatever additional powers and jurisdictions it likes.”
# “the court (Strasbourg) claimed jurisdiction over British military operations overseas in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. At one point it created havoc by ruling that there was no right to detain captured Taliban fighters as prisoners of war without complying with regulations designed for policemen turning in pickpockets at European police stations.”
It has become a complete can of worms that lawyers, likely as not, can only make worse. an example is in the newsletter; "Under the Bill, the ICIR must report annually to both governments (London and Dublin) simultaneously. The Secretary of State must consult the Government of Ireland before making regulations governing the destruction of ICIR records."
Thank you for the summing up!
I signed up to free emailed updates from RUSI, very interesting reading indeed!
Thanks, Miff. I'll give it a try.
Hello happy folks! Yes, Bob's written piece addresses the fundamental questions that stall this issue. BUT. The Outfit in London led by Super Starmer ! Do not Inspire any faith, hope, trust or support within the Veteran Community! The current prime minister in the Labour Government is a Liar and a thief! He's stolen the Hope from Veterans' and their families. Who would fight for a man who doesn't support the Protective Shield that defends the Country and the Veterans that have already served? Shakespeare could not have written a better farce! Starmer you may have destroyed your own integrity but you won't destroy the power of rightness that burns in every veterans ❤️ ! 💪
It’s an act of treachery and betrayal.