Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Overseas Operations: Civil Claims

Monday 2 November 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill will not prevent service personnel and veterans from bringing personal injury claims against the Ministry of Defence in relation to overseas operations within six years.
  • Historically, 94% of civil claims against the Ministry of Defence for overseas operations have been made already within six years.
  • The government stated that credible allegations of torture will always be investigated.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mark Jenkinson
Defence Veterans
Context

The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill is under discussion. There are concerns about its potential impact on service personnel's ability to make civil claims against the Ministry of Defence.

Question

What assessment has been made of the potential effect of the overseas operations Bill on the ability of service personnel to make civil claims against his Department? Does this affect their rights within six years?

Answer from Johnny Mercer

The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill will not prevent service personnel and veterans from bringing personal injury claims against the Ministry of Defence in relation to overseas operations within six years. Historically, 94% of such claims have been made already for claims relating to overseas operations.

Answered
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Q2 Mark Jenkinson
Veterans
Context

Concerns have been raised about the rhetoric surrounding exemptions from torture in relation to the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, suggesting it may mislead colleagues and the public.

Question

Does he agree that the rhetoric around exemptions from torture misleads colleagues and the public and only serves to misrepresent the purposes of this long overdue Bill?

Answer from Johnny Mercer

No, but let me be really clear on these issues around torture. Nobody would want to reduce our safeguards against torture. We have to be realistic about historical allegations of what this country has put its servicemen and women through. Credible allegations will always be investigated.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly address whether the rhetoric is misleading or misrepresenting, but instead clarified the stance on torture safeguards and historical investigations.

How: Let Me Be Really Clear, We Have To Be Realistic

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