SIR – As two former soldiers, we watch the hounding of our servicemen and women by unscrupulous and opportunistic lawyers with incredulity and dismay. The pressures and demands on the front line are already tough enough without our forces fearing legal repercussions every time they step off their base.

Many of the allegations being brought against those who fought so bravely and tenaciously in Iraq, after more than a decade, are spurious or totally fabricated, motivated only by the hope of financial gain. A genuine attempt to right historic wrongs has become a compensation industry, benefiting only the legal profession.

Multiple legal probes into single incidents waste time and public funds, and leave those who served their country on our behalf feeling betrayed and persecuted.

Furthermore, to learn that the new shadow defence secretary, Emily Thornberry, has received a donation-in-kind from a law firm accused of pursuing false torture claims against British soldiers is beyond parody.

A soldier will fight for his mates and for his country. The former will never let him down, but it would seem that the latter, sadly, can be less reliable.

The whole episode is a disgrace, and we ask the Prime Minister to intervene personally.

Sir Nicholas Soames MP (Con)
Richard Drax MP (Con)
London SW1

| Telegraph

Article in The Telegraph by Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent

Stop these 'opportunistic' lawyers hounding our Army veterans, MPs tell Cameron

The Prime Minister must intervene to stop the disgraceful "hounding" of British troops by lawyers seeking compensation for alleged abuses during the Iraq War, MPs say.

Tory MPs Sir Nicholas Soames and Richard Drax, both former soldiers, say many of the allegations come from "opportunistic lawyers" and are "spurious or totally fabricated, motivated only by the hope of financial gain".

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, they complain that "a genuine attempt to right historic wrongs has become a compensation industry, benefiting only the legal profession".

The letter comes amid increasing anger in the Government over a glut of legal cases brought against troops, and an attempt by ministers to fight back against litigation they fear will stop the Armed Forces doing their job.

Sir Nicholas, the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, and Mr Drax write: "The pressures and demands on the frontline are already tough enough without our forces fearing legal repercussions every time they step off their base." Soldiers have been left feeling betrayed and persecuted, the pair write. Lawyers have prepared more than 2,000 compensation claims and judicial review cases in the aftermath of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

One of the firms which has brought cases, Leigh Day, is facing disciplinary action and its lawyers face the prospect of being struck off over a £31 million public inquiry. During the inquiry it emerged that a key, hand-written document, which had the potential to stop the costly legal proceedings in their tracks, had been destroyed.

Sir Nicholas and Mr Drax say the recent disclosure that the new shadow defence secretary, Emily Thornberry, received donations in kind from the firm was "beyond parody". Last night Leigh Day said it strongly denied all the allegations made against it by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.