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Armed Forces Bill

My Lords, in general I welcome the Bill. I thank the Minister and his team for the trouble they have taken in briefing us on the progress of the Bill. Thank you very much indeed. This Second Reading is happening at a very difficult time for our services. They are involved in operations in Iraq which for many people in our country, perhaps the majority in our country, are unpopular. For the first time in my own experience the services do not have overwhelming backing for what they are doing, although the country is still supportive of the services themselves. The new commitment to Afghanistan will, I think, pose further difficulties, may continue for a very long time and could become as worrying as Iraq. I do not think that we can guarantee to have support if the operations appear to be going wrong. I think that the services know that and are very concerned. Our services need a discipline Act that they can believe in, one which reflects and understands just how difficult it is to take part in military operations and the challenges that the services face. The structures they need are in many ways different from those in civilian life. What they need must be understood. I am still not sure if many in the Government, in Parliament and the legal profession begin to understand that, despite their assurances that they do. There seems to be less understanding than there has been for many years. There is still a feeling in some circles that service law should be the same as civil law. That cannot be right if we are to have effective fighting forces. I think it illustrates the lack of understanding that I am talking about. The bond between the commanding officer and his or her unit is of great importance. I was very relieved to hear what the Minister had to say about the service police and the commanding officers. I and others did not interpret what is currently written in the Bill as quite saying that. We were concerned. I hope it will be absolutely clear when it is looked at again. I can well understand why a single Act, as opposed to separate service Acts, brings benefits. It is much more convenient to have one Act. However, we would be very wrong to forget and not to recognise why we have had three different Acts. We should be very careful. I agree entirely with what the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Bramall, said on this subject. The Acts reflected the nature of the services, the different environments they fight in and the way they go to war. There are many differences. For example, in the Royal Navy the captain of a ship is the man who decides whether to go into action or avoid action. The ordinary seaman has little choice; once the captain has decided which course to sail on, he cannot run away. In the Royal Navy, only a minority of officers and crewmen close with the enemy and have to place themselves in mortal danger. The Army is different and, I think, is rather more complicated. A far higher percentage of officers and men go into battle and have the opportunity to run away. It is important that, when and where necessary, services are different. That needs to be recognised. For example, the composition of the courts-martial boards is highly relevant. The services need to have confidence, as other noble Lords have said, in the Director of Service Prosecutions. I entirely agree with what the noble Lord, Lord Astor, said. It is difficult to define ““military experience”” but it is surely much more than just having a senior military rank. Having a civilian in this important role would be quite wrong and damaging. Lastly, over the past few years we have been in danger of our services becoming risk averse. The noble Lord, Lord Astor, referred to a recent survey. We must be very careful that servicemen do not become frightened to take the necessary actions on the battlefield. We know that some soldiers have been nervous to squeeze the trigger when they needed to. The Act must continue to recognise that it has great responsibilities for operational effectiveness. I think that much work needs still to be done in Committee to reassure the services. As the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, and others have said, the services need complete clarity on what the law is.