Connor Beaton of the Republican Socialist Platform has written the following article about the Johnson government’s the latest Overseas Operation Bill. This article was first posted at – https://republicansocialists.scot/2020/09/tories-enshrine-impunity-for-british-security-forces-in-law/
TORIES ENSHRINE IMPUNITY FOR BRITISH SECURITY SOURCES IN LAW
British security forces will gain explicit legal cover to commit crimes at home and abroad under new laws proposed by the UK’s right-wing Tory government with little – if any – resistance from the Labour Party’s new jingoistic leadership. Under the Overseas Operations Bill, which cleared its first parliamentary hurdle this week, soldiers who committed war crimes such as murder, torture and sexual abuse while in the service of British imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan will be spared from investigation or prosecution. Meanwhile, the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Bill, first announced this week, will enshrine in law an existing MI5 policy allowing informants to commit crimes, potentially including murder. Both of these pieces of legislation form part of a wider pushback against scrutiny of the conduct of British security forces at home and abroad. Continue reading “TORIES ENSHRINE IMPUNITY FOR BRITISH SECURITY SOURCES IN LAW”
