Legal News

A leading member of the Armed Forces has said that women should not be given roles in frontline combat as they lack the “killer instinct”.

Colonel Richard Kemp led troops in Afghanistan and told The Times that government plans to allow women to fight on the frontline would endanger lives.

Col Kemp has accused government ministers of putting political correctness before safety – and has questioned how many women would actually want to fight on the frontline.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) review is due to be published within weeks, which would lift the ban on women fighting alongside men in frontline combat. However, critics of the plan say deploying women on the frontline could damage the fighting capabilities of the Armed Forces.

Women on the frontline are allowed in other armies across the world – including the US, Canada and Australia.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has called on the British Army to ditch its “macho” image and show that it is open to everyone who is fit enough to fight.

Mr Hammond is now Britain’s Foreign Secretary and Col Kemp has accused him of pursuing a “transparent political agenda” in calling for women to be allowed to fight on the frontline in the British Armed Forces.

Writing in The Times, Col Kemp said that the machismo “despised” by Mr Hammond was the very attribute that made the Armed Forces so effective – and enabled troops to make the decision in battle to “kill or be killed”.

“Prioritising political correctness and a misguided idea of equal opportunities can only serve to undermine fighting effectiveness and put lives in danger,” said Col Kemp.

“Infantry close combat demands ferocity, aggression and killer instinct – these characteristics are far more common in men than women.

“Even in the high-tech 21st century – one hundred years after the outbreak of the First World War – the infantry soldier's ultimate purpose is still to get out of a trench and charge into the teeth of enemy fire: to close with the enemy and kill him face to face with bullets, bayonets, grenades and, if necessary, in hand-to-hand combat.

“Physically and emotionally, few women will have the aptitude to join the combat arms – and perhaps even fewer will want to do so,” Col Kemp added.

Between 2001 and October 2014, a total of 453 members of the British Armed Forces lost their lives in Afghanistan, including personnel killed on routine patrols, in roadside bomb attacks and in live combat.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Military Accident Claims & Claims Against MoD

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise on making no win no fee Military Accident Claims or Claims Against MoD in cases where injury occurred as a result of negligence – including failures in command, cold weather injuries, PTSD, military training accidents (including negligent discharge) and military equipment failures.

Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of injury or diagnosis in which to make a compensation claim.

In cases where a serving member of the Armed Forces has lost their life as a result of negligence, Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise families on how to make a no win no fee Fatal Injuries Claim against the MoD.

Claims can be made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or via the civil court – your Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitor will be able to advise you further.

For expert legal advice on making no win no fee Military Accident Claims or Claims Against MoD, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors in confidence on 020 7923 4020.