§ Lord Monkswellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is legal authority which permits (i) armed forces personnel and (ii) police force personnel to kill unarmed civilians in any circumstances, and if so what.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Lord Trefgarne)So far as England, Wales and Northern Ireland are concerned the relevant statutes—Section III of the Criminal Law Act 1967 and Section III of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967—permit anyone, whether a civilian, or a policeman, or a member of the armed forces, to use such force as is reasonable in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders, or of persons unlawfully at large. In Scotland, while there is no equivalent statutory provision, the common law produces the same result. What force is reasonable in any particular case will depend on the circumstances of that case. Members of the armed forces when overseas are required to respect the law of the receiving state.