RAF officer faces jail over ?illegal war?
(Image of display over Fowey, Cornwall, courtesy RAF Red Arrows) In the interest of full disclosure, I was once in the RAF, and I met the Red Arrows. How cool is that?)
David Leppard, The Times
AN RAF officer could be jailed for refusing to serve in Iraq because he believes that the war there was illegal.
Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith is to be court-martialled for ?refusing to obey a lawful command? after he told his commanding officer that he would not go to Basra.
He is the first British officer to face criminal charges for challenging the legality of war.
Kendall-Smith, 37, unit medical officer for RAF Kinloss in Morayshire, has been decorated for his role in support of military operations in Afghanistan and for two previous tours in support of the RAF in Iraq.
However, after studying the legal position, including the advice of Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, he decided this year that the war was unlawful and it would therefore be wrong for him to return.
Justin Hugheston-Roberts, his solicitor, said preliminary court martial proceedings were expected to begin this year. He said that Kendall-Smith did not object in principle to serving in any war, provided it was legal.
?This is the first case of its kind involving Iraq. My client has considered this very carefully and in great depth. He is not arguing that he is a conscientious objector. He is arguing that the war is manifestly unlawful,? he said.
Kendall-Smith, as a serving officer, is barred by military regulations from talking to the media. A colleague said: ?Malcolm joined the RAF out of a spirit of idealism. He felt he wanted to do something good, to make a difference. It was good old battle of Britain stuff, helping the good guys fight the fascists.
?When he first went to the Gulf in 2003, his awareness of the legal position was far less than it is now. He is now in no doubt that the war was illegal and that the government has spun its position on the evidence. He takes the view that this is something which is worth going to prison for.
?When he explained to his commanding officer that he thought the war was unlawful, he was told that the attorney-general had declared it legal. Malcolm simply replied that the attorney-general had said one thing, then later said more or less completely the opposite.?
