§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about paragraph 3 of section V, part II, of the Manual of Military Law so far as it indicates that military commanders are bound to take action if the circumstances demand even though the civil authority has given directions to the contrary.
§ Mr. StanleyThe manual of military Law is a commentary on the law of the land and paragraph 3 is considered to be an accurate statement of the law. The statement to which the hon. Member has drawn attention refers only to wholly exceptional circumstances in which life and property is endangered. As section V paragraph 1 makes clear, it is most unlikely that a military commander would be so cut off from a superior command as to have to act on his own authority.