Army discipline

In reply to Frank Mc­Donald (Letters, 13 November), the point of whistleblowers within the army is to ensure that high standards of behaviour are asserted and maintained, even within a war situation.

If a member of the British forces was captured by the Taleban we would want them to be treated with respect and dignity, and not have their execution filmed and the footage then ­distributed like a war trophy between insurgents.

The footage of the recent killing was found by police investigating another crime which was downloaded on to a soldier’s computer.

The actions of “Marine A” make it more rather than less likely that more of “our boys” will die or suffer abuse when captured by the Taleban rather than be treated appropriately.

From a propaganda point of view the court martial releasing copies of the footage of the killing can only be detrimental and served no useful purpose.

Neil Sinclair

Clarence Street

Edinburgh