Iraq veteran describes abuses investigation team as aberration

A former British servicewoman has urged the UK government to shut down the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, describing it as a "witch hunt" which ruined the lives of military personnel.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

15 December, 2016

A former servicewoman has demanded the government shut down its abuse investigations team [Getty]

A British war veteran has demanded the government ends investigations into abuse allegations brought by Iraqis against UK troops during the 2003 invasion and occupation.

Rachel Webster, a former captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and helped rebuild schools in Basra, says she is suing the UK's Ministry of Defence over her wrongful arrest in January 2014 following investigations by the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).

The MoD has paid damages over Webster's treatment following her dawn raid arrest.

She is now mounting further legal action over the right of IHAT to have raided her home. Damages could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, the Telegraph reported.

In statement read by her lawyer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday, Webster urged the government to shut down its "witch hunt", calling IHAT an "aberration".

Her barrister David Taylor said on her behalf: "Rachel calls for an end to this self-inflicted military fiasco and that an inquiry be ordered to see what went so badly wrong.

"The Prime Minister Theresa May said recently that the bravest of the brave would be protected.

"So she calls upon the Prime Minister Theresa May, an honourable woman, who like Rachel has spent her whole life defending British values and protecting British lives: to shut down IHAT now and put an end to this bloated, discredited and damaging witch hunt."

She branded IHAT an "unstoppable double jeopardy juggernaut running dangerously out of control".

She added: "IHAT has been complicit in the needless investigation of thousands of military personnel, interrupting their lives and frazzling the mental health of those put under the spotlight."

An MOD spokesman told The New Arab: "Our Armed Forces are rightly held to the highest standards and credible serious allegations of criminal behaviour must be investigated.

"An independent investigation is the best way to make sure that innocent personnel are not dragged through international courts without cause, leaving the door open to a lengthy, and costly public inquiry."

IHAT was set up by the Labour government in 2010 as an independent agency of the MoD. Led by a group of retired police officers, it has investigated 1,490 cases of alleged abuse.

Under current plans, Ihat aims to complete its work by 2019.

In October, May announced plans to allow UK soldiers to sidestep European human rights law, in a move the Prime Minister said would end "the industry of vexatious claims" against troops.