The guide argued that ECHR legal guidelines could possibly be utilized to extra successfully scrutinise army actions.
Lee Anderson and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Picture: GETTY)
Lee Anderson has recommended Sir Keir Starmer is a “risk to our nationwide safety” after it was revealed that the now-Prime Minister as soon as advocated utilizing European human rights legal guidelines to probe British troops in Iraq. Mr Anderson’s warning was echoed on X by Reform Social gathering deputy chief Richard Tice, who wrote: “Starmer: Use ECHR to research British troops. He acted with convicted fraudster towards British troops.
“He betrayed our courageous veterans; a whole lot had been hounded resulting from him. He’s hypocritical liar.” The controversy stems from a chapter Sir Keir wrote almost twenty years in the past for the 2008 guide The Iraq Struggle and Worldwide Regulation, edited by Phil Shiner.
Is Starmer a risk to our nationwide safety? https://t.co/3m4JRsSMPO
— Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) January 29, 2026
Mr Shiner was later struck off as a solicitor and subsequently prosecuted, pleading responsible to fraud prices associated to his pursuit of authorized help for claims towards British troopers.
He was handed a suspended jail sentence for failing to reveal that he had used “fixers” to recruit purchasers. Within the chapter, Sir Keir argued that European human rights regulation was “a lot better developed and much more practical” than UN mechanisms in holding governments to account, and accused the UK and US of reshaping worldwide regulation to swimsuit their very own ends.
He additionally wrote that UN-mandated multinational forces had been “often immune from authorized course of within the nation the place it’s working,” highlighting what he noticed as an absence of accountability for British troops in Iraq.
The guide argued that ECHR legal guidelines could possibly be utilized to scrutinise army actions extra successfully, and Sir Keir assisted human rights organisations in a associated 2007 case that helped set up this precedent.
The authorized fallout was important. Shiner’s declare finally succeeded on the European Courtroom of Human Rights in 2012, resulting in the creation of the Iraq Historic Allegations Staff (Ihat), which investigated a whole lot of British service personnel.
Whereas most instances later collapsed, many troops endured years of scrutiny and reputational harm.
Talking to The Telegraph, Gen Sir Peter Wall, former Chief of the Normal Employees, referred to as it “surprising” that Sir Keir had linked himself to Shiner, describing the lawyer as “the bane of our lives” and warning that his affiliation raised questions in regards to the Prime Minister’s suitability to make choices affecting the army.
Tom Tugendhat, a former Cupboard minister who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, stated troops had been become “whipping boys for the courts,” leaving officers “paralysed by potential litigation”.
Veterans straight affected have additionally spoken out. Sgt Richie Catterall stated Sir Keir “should share a number of the accountability” for repeated investigations right into a deadly taking pictures, whereas Rachel Webster, wrongfully investigated by Ihat and later compensated, described studying of Sir Keir’s involvement as “deeply distressing.”
Downing Road maintains Sir Keir assisted the courtroom “on factors of regulation, to not advocate for both aspect.” Human rights lawyer Matthew Jury famous, nevertheless, that barristers instructed by intervening organisations are appearing as advocates for that organisation, and describing their position as impartial might be deceptive.
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Sir Keir has repeatedly rejected requires the UK to depart the ECHR, whereas critics, together with Mr Anderson and Mr Tice, argue that his previous authorized interventions and hyperlinks to Mr Shiner proceed to forged a shadow over Britain’s armed forces.
A Downing Road spokesman stated: “It is a determined and deliberate misrepresentation.”
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