Member of Parliament for North East Fife Sir Menzies Campbell has welcomed the ruling by the Court of Appeal yesterday (Monday) that the Human Rights Act applies to British troops at all times, even when they are on patrol or in battle.
The ruling means the Ministry of Defence has a legal duty to provide adequate equipment for British troops.
Commenting on the landmark ruling, Sir Menzies said:
“Many people will be shocked to realise members of our Armed Services are not protected by the Human Rights while on active service.
“Our serving personnel understand and accept the fact they face considerable risks when going into combat overseas. They wouldn’t sign up otherwise. Equally, their commanding officers make decisions based on operational priorities but also on the need to minimise risk to their troops.
“The Government has a duty of care to our Armed Forces and providing adequate equipment forms part of that responsibility. This ruling, if applied with commonsense, should improve standards in this area and provide recourse for servicemen and women and their families if standards slip. It need not impact upon our overall defence objectives.â€
