Troops to 'opt out' of human rights laws

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to let the British military "opt out" of two sections of the European Convention on Human Rights to protect soldiers from what she called an "industry of vexatious claims that has pursued those who served in previous conflicts".

The policy, due to be announced today at the Conservative Party conference, would mean that "in future conflicts, subject to a vote of both Houses of Parliament, the UK would 'derogate' from Article two (right to life) and Article five (right to liberty) of the ECHR", the BBC reports.

According to the government, much of the litigation faced by the Ministry of Defence is filed under those two sections of the act.

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"About £100m has been spent since 2004 dealing with thousands of cases lodged against soldiers who served in Iraq," says The Times. "Senior military officials warn the convention's extension on to the battlefield over the past two decades risks undermining operations because soldiers will be too wary of taking risks."

The Daily Telegraph describes the policy change as a "major victory for soldiers, MPs and senior military figures who have fought against the hounding of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan".

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said existing laws are open to abuse, and have "caused significant distress to people who risked their lives to protect us".

The system "has cost the taxpayer millions and there is a real risk it will stop our armed forces doing their job", he added. "Our legal system has been abused to level false charges against our troops on an industrial scale."

But the policy change was "immediately criticised by human rights groups who said it was based on a false narrative of spurious lawsuits", The Guardian says.

Martha Spurrier, the director of human rights group Liberty, says the majority of claims faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) were connected to protections that cannot be suspended.

"The MoD has been forced to settle hundreds of cases of abuse, which speaks to mistreatment on the battlefield that we should be trying to eradicate, not permit," she told The Guardian.

Britain, along with Ireland, France, Greece and Turkey, has previously suspended parts of the act to deal with domestic terrorism or unrest, the Times reports, but "this would be the first time that any ECHR signatory has done so for military action abroad".