J'Accuse.....
Torygraph: Colonel 'victim of witch-hunt'
An Army officer was cleared by a court martial yesterday amid claims that he had been prosecuted as part of a politically motivated witch-hunt. Col Jorge Mendonca, who was commander of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, had been charged with negligently performing a duty after an Iraqi died in his battalion's custody in 2003.
The most expensive court martial in British history, estimated to cost more than £20 million, has sparked criticism of the Army Prosecuting Authority and the conduct of the Attorney General in supervising the prosecution.
Since investigations started against Col Mendonca, there have been claims that he was charged because Army chiefs and politicians wanted officers on trial alongside their men. The claims were backed by documents written by a senior Army commander and obtained by The Daily Telegraph which suggested that there was a determined effort to identify officers who could be put on trial for the misconduct of their troops in Iraq.
It has been alleged that the Army Prosecuting Authority made even greater steps to find evidence against Col Mendonca after the papers were published.
The process ended yesterday in a costly and embarrassing failure for the military's high command, who allowed the investigation to proceed unchecked, saying it had to remain independent from the chain of command.
Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, was accused of pushing the case through for political reasons. "A whiff of political correctness hangs heavy over the case against Col Mendonca, with law officers determined to have military officers prosecuted," Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said.
He added that those responsible for bringing the case "need an urgent reappraisal of their procedures and perhaps even their motives"....