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Armed Forces Bill

We are being presented with two options—one is a maximum of two years, and the other is a maximum of life imprisonment. I have agreed as a general point of principle that life imprisonment would be over the top in any circumstances that I can envisage, but the only alternative is a maximum of two years. I have clearly expressed the view that that would not be adequate as a penalty for people committing a very serious offence by, having been deployed in perfectly legitimate circumstances, leaving their comrades in an unsustainable position. I did not sit on the fence—I came to a firm view.