MPs join fight to clear Taliban murder Marine: Call to release sergeant jailed for killing fatally-wounded Afghan 

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Review: The campaign for justice for jailed Royal Marine Alexander Blackman (pictured aged 24 on exercise) received heavyweight backing yesterday

The campaign for justice for jailed Royal Marine Alexander Blackman received heavyweight backing yesterday.

A number of senior politicians, including three MPs on the defence select committee, demanded the troubling case be reopened. One even suggested Sgt Blackman could be released on parole or into military custody.

Thousands of readers expressed outrage after a Daily Mail investigation exposed evidence casting doubt on his conviction for killing a mortally wounded Taliban insurgent. Blackman’s ‘moment of madness’ came after a number of his comrades were tortured or blown up by the Taliban.

He was jailed for life in 2013 – becoming what is thought to have been the first British serviceman found guilty of murder on the battlefield.

But the Mail has reported how crucial evidence was deliberately withheld from his court martial – facts that could have led to a lesser manslaughter change.

Politically correct military chiefs are also accused of pressuring the jury of seven Navy and Marine officers to convict. Despite this, only five of the seven decided Blackman was guilty.

Ian Liddell-Grainger, a Tory member of the defence committee and a former major in the Royal Green Jackets, said: ‘These guys are under intense pressure and stress, and things go wrong.

‘He has said he made a mistake. He made a snap decision – it does not mean he is a bad man.

‘The best way to deal with this case is either he is released on parole or into military custody, or there is a retrial on the lesser charge of manslaughter. I think what the Daily Mail is doing campaigning on this case is great.’

James Gray, another Tory MP on the committee, said: ‘The worry is that we are bringing too much of civilian law into warfare and I think Blackman’s case is an example of that. Where there is new evidence, cases should be reconsidered.’

Richard Benyon, who also sits on the committee and is a former captain in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, said: ‘I always felt it was wrong in Sgt Blackman’s circumstances to apply a similar level of judicial process when we ask impossible things of people at moments of high stress. If necessary there should be a retrial.’ 

Gerald Howarth MP, who was a defence minister from 2010 to 2012, said: ‘Considering some of the evidence in the Daily Mail coverage, I think it should be looked at again. I was a minister at the time and have been to Afghanistan six times.

‘It’s very hard for people who haven’t been there to understand the situation at the time – dealing with situations such as patrolling through minefields, or not knowing if the child coming toward them is looking for support or leading you to an assassin.’ 

The jailing of the veteran commando, known as ‘Marine A’ at his court martial in 2013, triggered a public outcry. He is shown above filmed on a helmet camera on the fatal day of the shooting in Afghanistan

One Marine who served with Sgt Blackman previously said: 'My first impression of Al has not changed to this day, and it won't ever. He is a great leader of men and a good person. I don't remember him ever shouting' 

Tory grandee Lord Tebbit said: ‘From what I’ve read, I would say that those reaching their decision to prosecute him for murder and those finding him guilty were perhaps lacking in their understanding of the pressure of the mission in which he had been engaged. I think it would be appropriate to refer the case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.’

Peers will debate the Blackman case in the House of Lords on Tuesday and on Wednesday Conservative MP Richard Drax has secured an adjournment debate in the Commons.

Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a former Parachute Regiment major who served in Helmand, said: ‘Given that new and potentially significant information has now been presented which might have had a bearing on whether Sgt Blackman was originally charged with murder or manslaughter, it’s only right that ministers look carefully at this case.’

Thousands of Mail readers have sent messages of support as well as generous donations to help meet 41-year-old Blackman’s legal costs as he launches a new appeal. Last night his wife Claire said: ‘The response so far is wonderful and it is such a nice feeling to know that we are not alone in all this.

‘The support we are getting makes a real difference. I can’t thank people enough.’

Blackman told the court martial that he thought the man had already died before he shot him. He admits the bullet was a split-second ‘mistake’ caused by the culminated ‘stress and anger’ of a horrifying tour of duty

The Mail’s investigation has found the Ministry of Defence is planning to cover up a damning inquiry into command failings that left Blackman’s troop over-exposed to Taliban attacks and ‘psychologically defeated’ by the time of the incident in September 2011.

The paper also revealed that a high-flying colonel, Oliver Lee, resigned in protest at being blocked from offering mitigating circumstances surrounding the incident at the court martial.

The Ministry of Defence said: ‘The MoD followed and supported the legal process throughout.

‘This involved a full criminal investigation and a court martial where witnesses were called by both the independent Service Prosecution Authority and defence counsel.’