Agenda item

Court Martial of Sergeant Blackman

It was moved by Councillor Jack Clarkson, seconded by Councillor Keith Davis, that this Council:-

(a)       asks what other country in the world would pay lawyers to persecute its own soldiers, our very own war heroes;

(b)       believes that the current practice of pursuing soldiers who have fought for this country in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ulster, whereby many soldiers have had investigators turn up at their home addresses asking questions on their door steps regarding their military actions, of men and women who were simply carrying out orders, is deplorable and is nothing more than a “witch hunt”;

(c)        believes that this is beyond comprehension, and unless an individual has served on a battlefield/front, you cannot imagine what it must have been like to fight for your life, or to have lost a fellow comrade, shot or blown to pieces by an improvised explosive device (IED);

(d)       is concerned that Sergeant Alexander Blackman (Marine 'A') was sent to prison not by a British jury but by a military Court, and believes that if Sergeant Blackman had been judged by the ordinary public (i.e. a Jury) the result would have been somewhat different; Sergeant Blackman was prepared to die for his country, a man who signed up to be a soldier, who we expected to fight, and believes that the Government let Sergeant Blackman down, didn’t support him as a soldier and has hung him out to dry; and

(e)       supports the release of Sergeant Blackman and will not rest until the “witch hunt” against our soldiers in the British Army comes to an end

(Note: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the Motion, Councillor Jack Clarkson, Paragraph (b) of the Motion was altered by the addition of the words “and women” after the words “of men”.)

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Peter Rippon, seconded by Councillor Mazher Iqbal, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       wishes to place on record its respect and appreciation for members of the armed forces and the work they do to keep our country safe;

(b)       notes the action the current Administration has taken to support the armed forces, including the community covenant - a pledge to commit to improving the transition from service life into civilian life for local residents and their families;

(c)       sympathises with the case of Sergeant Blackman, and notes that new and potentially significant information came to light following the publication of a military report into the incident in September which contained several issues which were never put to the court martial panel and could have significantly helped Sergeant Blackman’s case, including the finding that commanders had missed signs that Sergeant Blackman and his men were showing evidence of "moral regression, psychological strain and fatigue"; and

(d)       notes the fact that MPs from various political parties have expressed similar sympathies.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

(Note: Councillors Aodan Marken, Brian Webster and Robert Murphy voted for Paragraphs (a) and (b) and abstained on Paragraphs (c) and (d) of the amendment and asked for this to be recorded.)

The original Motion, as amended, was the put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-