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Fatal Shootings (Iraq)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has responded, and particularly for his comments about the ““thorough, illuminating and helpful”” CPS report and his comment that the Attorney-General had acted properly throughout. He has indeed. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that this was a tragic series of events. He asked whether the original conclusion was correct. That is so, in the sense that the conclusion has been the same from the start, but conclusions should be reached on the basis of a full and proper investigation of the evidence. That is the way in which we should do it in this country, and that is the way in which our armed forces seek to operate. That is why, when questions were raised about the way in which this case had proceeded, it was necessary for the matter to be dealt with by the CPS and the Metropolitan police. Now, no one can argue that there was not a full and proper investigation, as indeed there was. It is in the interests of everyone, including the military, that such incidents are fairly and properly investigated and that our armed forces are clearly seen to be subject to the rule of law. Nothing could be more damaging to the reputation of our armed forces, and more likely to provoke hostility towards them, than the suggestion that they can get away with criminal acts of violence against civilians with impunity and without full and proper investigations. The hon. Gentleman asked about the thoroughness of SIB investigations and whether the Attorney-General and I were satisfied that the procedures now being introduced were adequate to ensure proper investigation. The key change is that in future the prosecutors in serious cases will be involved from an early stage. That will enable them to give advice and guidance to the SIB about what evidence needs to be collected and what procedures are necessary, so that—we hope—investigations will proceed much more effectively in future. We are satisfied that those improvements are very important. In addition, the report on the SIB by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, which is due later this year, will provide important guidance on what improvement the SIB needs to make internally. The hon. Gentleman asked about the delays. They are indeed regrettable. There were clearly differences of view in Army Legal Services: our lawyers, quite honestly, had formed different opinions. The Army chain of command was therefore subject to a degree of different advice, which is regrettable. The Metropolitan police investigation was obviously hampered by the circumstances in Iraq. A particular difficulty was that the Metropolitan police had to secure the confidence of Mr. Zaher’s family in order to have access to his body and conduct an autopsy. That took some time. We did not get the autopsy results—in final form, at least—until February. In March, Treasury counsel offered an opinion to the CPS, which was then able to inform us of its final conclusion. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that this tragic series of events has been fully investigated and that the soldiers involved can move on, knowing that their position has been clearly set out and that there are no circumstances in which anyone could argue that they should be prosecuted.