Fallon Confirms Date For IHAT Closure

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has confirmed that the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) will officially close on June 30, 2017

All remaining cases, believed to number around 20, will then be dealt with by the Service Police and are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

"I can confirm that IHAT will close in June and the Service Police should complete investigations into the small number of remaining cases a year earlier than planned ... We are taking steps to make sure the reputation of our Armed Forces cannot be attacked in this dishonest way again."

"The exposure of the dishonesty of Mr Shiner meant that many of the allegations that his now defunct firm, Public Interest Lawyers, had brought forward were discredited and enabled the Defence Secretary to decide to close IHAT. IHAT’s caseload is expected to reduce from a peak of over 3,000 allegations to around 20 investigations by the time it closes."

Phil Shiner, who ran Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), the defunct firm behind many of the claims was struck off in February, after being found to have acted dishonestly in bringing murder and torture claims against Iraq war veterans.

A scathing report by the Defence committee said it was "deeply concerned" the MoD had used public funds to cover the costs of those who were bringing "spurious and unassessed" cases against the war veterans and about the lack of support for those accused.

IHAT investigators were found to use "intimidatory tactics", including "deeply disturbing" methods such as impersonating the police and spying on serving and retired soldiers.

It was set up by Labour in 2010 to assess claims of abuse by Iraqi civilians against troops who had served there.

Initially starting out with 165 cases, allegations rocketed, mainly generated by two law firms, PIL and Leigh Day.

Chief of the General Staff General Sir Nick Carter commented on the IHAT closure, saying:

"Mutual trust is at the heart of the Army Leadership Code as is the care of soldiers and their families. We therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to ensuring we have the Nation’s confidence and the tools to do our jobs effectively on operations, free from the burden of unjust litigation."