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Armed Forces Bill

The right hon. Gentleman is of course right. In all humility, which of us who has been in that position would say that he or she got their judgments right at the time? Certainly, I did not. I hope that most of the judgments that I made were correct, but I can think back with considerable regret on things that I got wrong. The fact remains that any commanding officer worth his salt involves the military or police authorities at a very early stage by rote, but those investigating officers must—if the essential link of trust between officer and soldier, commanding officer and private is not to be broken—have the ear of the commanding officer at every stage of the disciplinary process. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot for his efforts to ensure that the amendment went through and I also thank the noble Lords for their wisdom in ensuring that the commanding officer remains inside this crucial relationship. Before I close, I would like to say this to the Minister. I believe that over the next few weeks and months a number of legal issues will come to a head that will challenge yet again the relationship between officer and soldier. May I ask the Minister to listen closely to the advice given by the noble Lords on this particular issue and not to try to make further inroads into this crucial relationship—the bond of trust that exists between fighting men?