Hilary Meredith-Beckham considers lack of change to soldiers’ rights for the past 35 years
It is now 35 years since the law allowed members of the British armed forces and their families to claim through the courts if they were injured or killed in service.
The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 originally prevented legal action from being brought against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over injuries suffered by service personnel.
This changed in 1987 with the repeal of s10 of Act, putting members of our armed forces working alongside civilians on a level legal playing field.
In 1988, I successfully ran the first ever claim on behalf of a widow whose husband had died on manoeuvres in Canada (Green v MoD).
For the first time, military families who had lost loved ones now realised they could seek answers, tr...