A rigorous Northern Ireland "Article 2" inquest found in 2024 that the use of lethal force against three IRA men by UK special forces at Coagh, Co Tyrone in 1991 was legally justified.

Our recent Member Opinion on Sir David Davis MP’s Military Operations Bill raised a number of questions about the proposed new legal framework for military operations, including the extent of the duty to investigate allegations of serious wrongdoing.

In this post former BAFF chair Douglas Young, a retired lawyer and reserve Lt Col, commends Sir David Davis's Military Operations Bill but queries the media spin that the Bill would "force ministers to own their decisions", and raises further questions in what Young believes is a "discussion worth having".

The new Northern Ireland Secretary does not believe that any former British soldier would face prosecution under the controversial Troubles Bill. Read on for

Reform UK should clarify a potentially far-reaching proposal to give members of the Armed Forces immunity from prosecution for actions taken during combat operations.

A legal claim brought by serving and former Royal Marines and British Army personnel over alleged exposure to asbestos during training in Latvia has been settled without any admission of liability by the Ministry of Defence.

The Afghanistan Inquiry has released further witness statements and transcripts.

The fullest media report at the time of writing is by Tom Ball in The Times - SAS called me Taliban apologist, officer tells Afghanistan inquiry.

The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan has just released a large tranche of redacted/anonymised evidence documentation.

The Chair of the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan has granted Core Participant status to five individuals "who held command roles or senior positions within UK Special Forces between mid-2010 and mid-2013."

The position as of spring 2026 is a bit of a moving target, but can be summarised in three overlapping strands: (1) the existing 2023 Act (partly in force but legally damaged), (2) court challenges undermining it, and (3) new legislation currently working its way through Parliament but delayed.

1) The current law: the 2023 “Legacy Act”

The operative statute

I wonder why this has come to mind today. Maybe it's because I attended a recent ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the end of active operations in the Gulf; Op Granby to the Brits, Desert Storm to our major allies.

The Labour Party's 2024 General Election manifesto included a commitment to "strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities by putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law", and in June 2025 following a Defence Committee report on the Armed Forces Covenant, the Government committed to extending the Covenant’s Legal Duty to all UK Government departments and the devolved administrations.

The Ministry of Defence has announced that for the first time, free, independent legal advice will be available to victim-survivors of rape and sexual offences (allegedly) committed by Service personnel or a civilian subject to Service Discipline that are being investigated by the Service Justice System.