Theresa May is to outlaw what she calls "vexatious" legal claims against British troops in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister is vowing to end a "witch-hunt" against soldiers which has led to 1,500 investigations and could cost taxpayers £100m.

"Our troops - our men and women in our armed forces - go out there and put their lives on the line in order to defend us ," she told Sky News Sunrise.

"This is about the Government saying to our troops, 'You have our backing, we are on your side, we're behind you in what you do'."

:: Can May stop legal action against troops?


In a move warmly welcomed by veterans' families and MPs, Mrs May will pledge that the European Convention on Human Rights will no longer apply to troops serving in battle.

"Our Armed Forces are the best in the world and the men and women who serve make huge sacrifices to keep us safe," the Prime Minister will say later at the Tory conference in Birmingham.

"We will repay them with gratitude and put an end to the industry of vexatious claims that has pursued those who served in previous conflicts."

Fallon: 'Spurious claims will be stopped'

Mrs May also denied claims, made by David Cameron's former aide Sir Craig Oliver, that she let the former prime minister down by not campaigning hard enough for Remain ahead of the Brexit referendum.

Mrs May shook her head and said: "I did say at the time I didn't think the sky would fall in if we left the European Union, but on balance I thought we should stay in the European Union and I then went out and campaigned for that.

"But that's all in the past. What I'm looking to is the future of the United Kingdom," she added.

During her visit to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Mrs May raised concerns over the "industrial scale" of claims lodged with the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).

The organisation was set up in November 2010 to look into allegations of murder, abuse and torture of Iraqi civilians by UK military personnel.

Theresa May's speech highlights

More than 1,500 cases have been considered, ranging from ill treatment during detention to assault and death by shooting.

Some 326 cases have already been settled, costing about £20m in compensation, but concerns have been raised about servicemen facing investigation even after having been cleared of wrongdoing by criminal courts.

Military advisers have warned the investigations risk seriously undermining the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces.

Under the proposals, the Government says it will remain essential that the Armed Forces operates to the highest standards and are subject to the rule of law at all times.

Mrs May told Sky News that troops would still be subjected to international law such as the Geneva Convention and that any "credible allegations of criminal behaviour" would be investigated.

The announcement follows the closure of Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), the firm responsible for filing thousands of claims against the Armed Forces.

Image: Reg Keys says lawyers involved should be ashamed of themselves

Reg Keys, whose son Tom was killed when guarding a police station in Iraq in 2003, applauded Mrs May for taking action, adding: "It's not for politicians and lawyers to look at the actions of British service personnel in a war zone and the decisions that had to be made.

"These lawyers pushing this are ambulance chasers of the very worst kind."

However, the Liberty human rights group condemned the move as "dangerous and incoherent", saying it "would leave both UK soldiers and foreign civilians at risk of human rights abuses".

"The Government cannot be allowed to leave its human rights commitments at our borders," said Martha Spurrier, director of Liberty.

"Doing so will leave abuse victims unprotected and our troops powerless when the state fails to keep them safe from harm."