September 14, 2011 - A call for soldiers to make anonymous allegations that comrades abused civilians during the Iraq war has been condemned as a "fishing expedition to find scapegoats" by a Westcountry man whose grandson was killed in the conflict. Notices have appeared in several military publications calling for information or suspicions to be passed on about systematic ill treatment inflicted by UK service personal. The Iraq Historical Allegations Team (IHAT), which is behind the plea, says it is simply trying to establish the truth behind a series of troubling allegations. However Dave Godfrey, whose grandson, Rifleman Daniel Coffey, was killed in Iraq in 2007 said he was shocked. "It is a very sad day indeed when soldiers are being encouraged to tell on their friends. "It is bound to affect morale," said Mr Godfrey, from Cullompton, who founded Operation Braveheart to support servicemen and women in the wake of his grandson's death. "I think this has a political ring about it. It just sounds like a fishing expedition to find scapegoats." But Hugo Swire, Conservative MP for East Devon and a former member of the Grenadier Guards, said he had no problem with the call. "If there are people out there who have something on their conscience or believe they saw or witnessed something and have been sitting on that information, this is a good vehicle to get it out." read more>>>
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