When Queen Elizabeth makes her speech today, she will leave a number of bruised hearts among those who have interest in the British Army. Contrary to expectations, the word now is that she won’t speak of legislation to protect British army veterans.
Why is this not going to feature? A short answer might be “Because Boris Johnson said it would”, and we know Johnson is a pathological liar. He has pledged to put a stop to the ‘pursuit of soldiers” over what they did in Iraq, Afghanistan and our own dear NEI. So clearly if this had featured in QE2’s speech, it would have meant Johnson had told the truth – an appalling vista indeed, Virginia.
Since the word leaked out that it wouldn’t, one Lord Dannatt has said he’s “very disappointed” at the notion that soldiers could be punished for “doing their duty.” The good Lord is a former chief of the general staff and cuts a manly figure in his military uniform – I counted seven medals pinned across his manly breast but there may be more. Such was their dazzle, it was hard to tell. The good Lord has some firm views about old soldiers:
“in the vast majority of cases, British soldiers, particularly in the campaign in Northern Ireland, got up in the morning to do their duty to keep the peace according to the rules of engagement we had, in sharp contrast to terrorists who got up in the morning whose aim was to maim and kill.”
Despite this, the British army carried out at a very minimum 300 killings in our little stateen over the years. Whether they had those deeds in mind when they woke up doesn’t really matter – they killed innocent people. Not once but again and again and again. The good Lord does see the need for punishment of wrong-doing
“Nobody is above the law. If soldiers have broken the law and if there is evidence to back up charges against them, then of course they must face the rigours of the law and take the consequences.”
How that is compatible with a law that would let soldiers off the hook for their killings here and elsewhere, I don’t understand. Maybe the good Lord is saying that British soldiers who kill unlawfully are so rare, a law should be passed that makes all British soldiers free from prosecution, including the tiny number who are in fact guilty.
If so, a moment’s thought will tell even the dimmest mind that the good Lord has contradicted himself. In which case he should feel a glow of comradeship with the other liar involved here, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.
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