Lord Blencathra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to recover legal aid payments to the firm Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March that there was no evidence that British soldiers had murdered 20 Iraqis.

Lord Faulks

Legal aid is not funding the Al-Sweady Inquiry. There are therefore no plans to recover payments made from legal aid to Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March.

On 20 March, at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into the most serious allegations against British soldiers in the Iraq War, lawyers representing Iraqi families withdrew their claim that the troops had killed unarmed civilians they had captured and brought back to an army base.

The inquiry continues and the statement on 20 March does not mean that the inquiry has been abandoned.

Legal aid was provided for an action prior to the Inquiry. Legal aid was provided to Iraqi applicants to seek an independent and effective investigation into deaths and torture or inhumane and degrading treatment in relation to the incident at checkpoint Danny Boy in Iraq in May 2004. As a result of these proceedings, the Secretary of State for Defence decided to hold the Al-Sweady Inquiry. This action was therefore successful in its aim.

The Inquiry is not yet complete and the Chairman’s report is not due to be published until later in the year. Public Interest Lawyers’s statement refers to part only of the allegations made and the Ministry of Justice awaits the Inquiry Report before commenting further.