With the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill now having been passed to the House of Lords, the BAFF article below from four years ago remains relevant.  It said "The fact is that Ministers, Generals and senior civil servants failed to protect service personnel and veterans from years of vexatious, vindictive allegations. A stronger, independent representative armed forces federation operating within sensible rules, as BAFF does, would have made a real difference for the better. The need is all the greater now for an active independent BAFF to ensure that the troops' interests are genuinely protected in any changes, and not used as an dogwhistle excuse for the establishment suiting its own convenience."

The Government has published the report by former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir David Calvert-Smith, who was commissioned in April 2016 to carry out a review of the systems in place at the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) for receving and processing allegations through to the ultimate decision as to whether to recommend prosecution.

The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) has given The Sun its first reaction to Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) intending to cease operations at the end of the month following the withdrawal of their legal aid authorisation. An IHAT spokesperson told the newspaper on Monday:

Media are reporting that Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), the Birmingham-based legal firm which has acted for hundreds of Iraqi claimants seeking damages for alleged wrongdoing by British troops, intends to close at the end of this month. The Daily Mail says that the firm has asked the High Court to make an order that it had ceased to act for 187 Iraqi claimants due to its ‘permanent closure’. In a subsequent letter seen by the Mail, PIL told its clients it was closing on August 31 and would no longer act on their behalf.