By Sammie Jones-
Former Prime minister David Cameron tried to shut down investigations of murder, abuse and torture by British soldiers in Iraq, but was overruled by the Attorney General, an MP has claimed.
Conservative MP Johnny Mercer, of the Commons Defense Committee and a former Army officer, said the former prime minister admitted to him that he wanted to shut down the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), but the move was vetoed by Jeremy Wright.
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The astonishing claim comes following a Sunday Telegraph report that three servicemen cleared over an Iraqi teenager’s death may be prosecuted.
MANSLAUGHTER
One of the service men- a decorated major,-has been warned they could be tried for the manslaughter of a 19-year-old who drowned in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.
A military investigation into the death in 2006 cleared the soldiers, though it is well known that many internal investigations of complaints are a sham.
The revelations sparked fresh calls for IHAT to be shut down. Mr Mercer told the Daily Telegraph: “I went to see the then prime minister in March and he told me he wanted to shut it down but he had been ordered by the Attorney General that he couldn’t.”
It is both shameful and dishonorable for any prime minister to attempt to shut down an investigation into killings. When you have a prime minister indulging in such deplorable activity, it makes one wonder how many other well-positioned individuals abuse their power with impunity.
Why would a noble prime minister want to shut down an investigation, when they should be eager to find out the truth?
The Government-established criminal investigation into murder, abuse and torture claims has recently been lambasted for its shady handling of some of the approximately 1,500 allegations it has received.
The move to re-investigate the allegations is most welcome, although Cameron himself should be held to account for even attempting to dishonorably influencing an investigation into deaths. We may never know how many other investigations he has successfully obstructed by using his position of influence wrongly.
It calls for the need for more bosses to be closely scrutinized in their decision-making process, especially where it comes to the handling of serious complaints.