Two soldiers sent home from Gulf war

Two soldiers sent home from Gulf war

The soldiers came home before the fighting started in Iraq

Two soldiers believed to be from 16 Air Assault Brigade serving in Iraq have been sent back to their headquarters in Essex.

The two were flown back to Colchester from Kuwait before the war in Iraq started, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Soldiers in 16 Air Assault Brigade are based in Colchester and Wattisham in Suffolk.

A solicitor said they had been ordered to return after raising conscientious objections to the war, according to a lawyer who has been informed about the case.

A military spokesman denied the two had been flown back to Britain for refusing to fight before the invasion of Iraq.

A Ministry of Defence statement said it had "no record of anybody from 16 Air Assault Brigade returning on grounds of conscientiously objecting to the conflict in Iraq".

The spokesman, who confirmed two soldiers had been sent home at the end of February, said there were many reasons why soldiers were sent back.

These could be medical, compassionate or disciplinary grounds.

I think the main issue is going to be the individual conviction of the service personnel over and above the requirement to obey a lawful command

Justin Hugheston-Roberts, of Forces Law

A leading lawyer who acts on behalf of service personnel and their families said the soldiers' case was an unusual one.

Justin Hugheston-Roberts works for Forces Law, a nationwide group of 22 law firms, which acts for service personnel.

He has spoken to the solicitor acting for the soldiers.

"The main issue is going to be the individual conviction of the service personnel over and above the requirement to obey a lawful command," he said.

'Returned to unit'

"I believe that these two soldiers have told their commanding officers that they will not fight in a war involving the death of innocent civilians.

"And as a result of that they have been returned to unit, what will happen now is a matter of conjecture."

At Colchester Garrison on Sunday no-one would comment.

There are 5,000 men and women from 16 Air Assault Brigade serving in southern Iraq near the city of Basra.