It’s not just RIP from TheEye to one of our heroes. It seems that he has been shabbily treated. Now TheEye hates the EU and all of it’s pernicious just-for-the-hell-of-it legislation but maybe for once their “Human Rights” nonsense might actually really help someone genuinely.
It’d be a bloody first.

The Ministry of Defence is facing a flood of compensation claims from families of servicemen who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after a landmark legal ruling that they are covered by these EU diktats that we can’t stop. Sorry, TheEye thought his grandfathers’ sorted that out in the Battle of Britain but the one who drove a Hurricane and the one who fixed Spitfire engines in the Sahara were obviously not focussed that afternoon.

The Ministry of Defence is facing a flood of compensation claims from families of servicemen who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after a landmark legal ruling that they are covered by human rights laws.

A decision by the Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a High Court ruling that troops serving abroad are protected by the Human Rights Act despite the challenge by the Ministry of Defence.

The families of soldiers killed as a result of poor or outdated equipment are thought to be most likely to use the decision against the MoD, including the 37 soldiers who have died in the Snatch Land Rover, which has been criticised as too weak to withstand roadside bombs

Others could include the case of Sgt Steven Roberts who was killed due to a shortage of body armour and the 14 deaths that resulted from the destruction of the Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft over Afghanistan.

Deaths in other vehicles which have been shown to be vulnerable to roadside bombs, such as Jackal, Viking and Vector, could also leave the MoD liable to prosecution.

No Thanks as the caption for this photograph should be. I’d Rather Walk.

Military commanders also fear combat operations could be hamstrung by soldiers using human rights legislation to allow them to question orders.

A former commanding officer of troops in Basra told The Daily Telegraph that the decision would make it extremely difficult to lead “soldiers who are going to question your orders suggesting ‘you are breaching my human rights’.

“I think the business of us getting on with the job is going to be extremely difficult. We are going to be spending a long time risk assessing, whereas our energy should be applied to solving the intellectual problems of winning the campaign.”

The case was brought to court by the mother of Private Jason Smith who died from a heatstroke in 2003 while working in temperatures of 122F in Iraq without air conditioning. She who won a decision in April last year that sending soldiers out on patrol or into battle with defective equipment could amount to a breach of their human rights.

Lawyers for John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, mounted an appeal to overturn the ruling. They did not dispute that the state had a responsibility for the well-being of its Armed Forces but to suggest that it might be in breach of human rights on each occasion that it did not provide a soldier with optimal equipment would impose a “wholly unreasonable and disproportionate obligation”.

The ruling is likely to be challenged in the House of Lords as the MoD has substantially reservations over how it could impact on current operations.

Bob Ainsworth, the Minister for Armed Forces, said the “disappointing” court decision could have “very serious implications for the ability of our forces – and those of our allies – to conduct military operations overseas”. Personally, having a Minister of the Crown calling himself ‘Bob’ rather than ‘Robert’ is already a sign that things are not right with the world.

Reflecting the worry of defence chiefs overseeing operations in Afghanistan the MoD issued a second statement that said during the “heat of battle” in “fast moving operations” Britain “could not secure the rights and freedoms which the Human Rights Act seeks to guarantee”.

“We are very concerned by the attempt to insert lawyers into the chain of command in the middle of a battle, which would only create uncertainty, hesitation and potentially greater risk to our people.”

Patrick Mercer, a Tory MP and a former infantry commander, said if the ruling was “interpreted sensibly” it should not impact on combat operations. But he warned that it could make commanders “risk averse”. Also note the lack of ‘Pat’ Mercer. It shows that he isn’t a ‘Bob’ and actually takes his job seriously rather than ‘Bob’ who is just claiming expenses until he is turfed out of office next year.

The case was originally brought after Andrew Walker, the outspoken Oxford assistant deputy coroner, recorded that Pte Smith had died as a result of “serious failure” by the military in addressing the climate issues.

A new inquest will now reopen later this year.

Catherine Smith, Pte Smith’s mother who brought the case, said: “Jason knew he could die and I accept this. But simple steps that could have been taken – like providing air conditioning units which were available 4 miles away – weren’t taken and this put his life at risk unnecessarily.”

Jocelyn Cockburn, her solicitor, said: “The implications of this judgment are simple – our armed forces now have the same protections as all the rest of us. Moving away from the name comments right now sharpish.

“The MoD suggestion that they should lose these protections when on the battlefield is outrageous. Soldiers have the right to know, when risking their lives for us, that we have provided them with all reasonable protection.”

Lawyers are uncertain as yet of the ruling’s full implications but some believe claims could be brought from any incidents dating back to when the Human Rights Act was introduced in 2000.

TheEye makes his point clearly – as with St Crispin and The G.O.T. – if you don’t stand with our troups then stand in front of them. TheEye won’t stand for this crap. You know what you sign up to. People fire lead pointed thingies at you. If St Crispin has been involved then 4.5 inch shells might be heading your way and if TheEye’s father has decided to stir his bones then a SeaDart Missile may be heading down your chimney just as TheEye types. The SeaDart missile in the picture is white and therefore real. The red ones, oddly, are the fakes.