Tri-Service
Labour MP 'Nearly Shot At Civilian In Afghanistan'
Shadow defence secretary and ex-soldier Clive Lewis has revealed he nearly shot at a civilian while on tour in Afghanistan.
Mr Lewis, who suffered depression after returning from his three-month tour, admitted the incident while criticising law firms for hounding soldiers over their roles in Iraq.
The Norwich South Labour MP said if troops are left uncertain about what support they will have from the Armed Forces over "an accident", it could impact on the effectiveness of combat.
Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, he said:
"The key thing is our soldiers should be able to deploy and know that they have the support to be able to make decisions in the best interest of their forces on the ground."
Saying that he could speak from experience, Mr. Lewis went on to say:
"When I was in Afghanistan there were situations - and I can think of a situation in particular - where I could have easily shot a civilian. It could have happened. Very close."
Lewis said that he was given reassurance that as long as he followed certain rules and procedures, he knew he'd be protected by the state and the Armed Forces and that he wouldn't be hounded for what was in effect an accident under very strenuous circumstances.
"If you begin to throw doubt on that and you make people begin to think twice then you basically in effect degrade combat effectiveness and put people in danger. There is a balancing act between being able to operate freely and effectively but also to ensure that civilians and others are protected in the appropriate way."
Combat effectiveness was a theme echoed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as well, as he questioned whether or not the airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State (IS) have been working.
Mr. Corbyn has refused to say whether or not he'd continue the air raids on IS if he were prime minister, saying instead:
"I think there has to be a political solution that brings together everybody, with the exception of IS, to isolate them. That, I think, has to be the process."
He said he is concerned about who is being killed as a result of the strikes, raising the issue of the collateral damage caused.
Cover image: Kinversam
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