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Armed Forces Bill

moved Amendment No. 15: Page 3, line 14, after ““any”” insert ““personal”” The noble Earl said: I shall also speak to Amendments Nos. 16, 17 and 18. The Bill has sensible provisions about looting, but where does looting stop and using the enemy’s materiel of war against him start? Presumably it would be legal, though sometimes unwise, to take and use the enemy’s hand grenades, but taking his wristwatch would be illegal. However, what about food supplies? Where is the dividing line? And how does Clause 4 work? Amendment No. 16 covers the law of armed conflict requirements not to take a prisoner of war’s NBC protective equipment, although my amendment is designed to go a bit wider and include such things as boots and foul-weather equipment. Amendment No. 18 builds on No. 15 and creates an offence of ““failing to suppress looting””. If an offence to fail to suppress mutiny is in the Bill, why do we not have one for failing to suppress looting? Both are serious breakdowns in discipline. I beg to move.