Speeches

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Earl Howe, House of Lords Official Report, 27 April 2016, column 1201, and his announcement of a review by the Service Justice Board into the procedures for handling allegations of sexual assault in the armed forces, what the (a) current membership of the Service Justice Board is and (b) terms of that review are.

Mark Lancaster

The established membership of the Service Justice Board is as follows:

Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans – Chair

Minister of State for Policing, Fire, Criminal Justice & Victims

Solicitor General

Judge Advocate General

Director of Service Prosecutions

Chief of Defence People

2nd Sea Lord

Deputy Chief of the General Staff

Air Member for Personnel

MOD Central Legal Services

Director Army Legal Services

Commander Navy Legal Services

Director RAF Legal Services

Provost Marshal (Army)

Provost Marshal (RAF)

Provost Marshal (Navy)

Chief Constable Ministry of Defence Police

Director Military Courts Service

Other officials may be invited to attend as and when necessary.

The review into the procedures for handling allegations of sexual assault in the Armed Forces is to consider whether all, or any, of the offences of: sexual assault, exposure, voyeurism, or sexual activity in a public lavatory should be added to Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act 2006. The views expressed in both Houses during the passage of the Armed Forces Act 2016, and by external organisations such as Liberty, are an important factor in the on-going work on this issue.