Right to shut down Iraq tribunal - MP

What started off as a well-intentioned plan to ensure that the British Army always adhered to the highest standards soon degenerated into an orgy of lawyers, with serving and ex-servicemen being hounded based on flimsy evidence – and of course the taxpayer picked up the tab for both sides' legal costs.

One of the main reasons we can be so proud of our armed forces is the very high standards they keep – particularly when it comes to the treatment of prisoners.

Individuals who undermine those high standards not only damage the status of our armed forces, but they put their own colleagues' lives at risk from reprisal attacks.

However, what happened with IHAT was that one particular firm – Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) – was found to be touring Iraq, encouraging people to bring a claim – even if there was little or no evidence of wrongdoing.

Money that was supposed to have been spent investigating abuse claims was instead offered as incentives for claimants.

I am happy to say that PIL has now been put out of business and, just recently, their 'star' lawyer Phil Shiner was struck off for acting dishonestly and bringing false claims.

The Government has also taken action to recover some of the money that was paid out to PIL and other firms.

It has always struck me as profoundly wrong that we are the only country in the world that actually pays people to sue our own soldiers.

It's something I raised several times when I was a backbench MP.

Thankfully, the Government is now taking action to protect our servicemen.

We will be seeking a derogation from the European Convention of Human Rights which would exempt soldiers on the battlefield – although, so that we can maintain our high standards, they will still be subject to the Geneva Convention on the treatment of detainees and the service law.

These changes will allow our soldiers to get on with doing a very difficult job without having to look over their shoulders all the time.