Labour pledges to appoint Armed Forces Commissioner – but what would the job involve?
Sir Keir Starmer has announced Labour will appoint an Armed Forces Commissioner if his party wins the next election.
The job of the 'Forces Tsar' would be to champion the military and the forces community.
Sitting outside the chain of command, they would have the power to investigate and highlight issues affecting service personnel and their families.
It is a concept used in Germany, with Eva Högl the German Bundstag's Parliamentary Commissioner for the armed forces there since May 2020.
She explained: "I am there to support the soldiers so they can complain about certain things and then I will help them to improve things."
Last year Högl received 2,343 complaints, which she can take to the Minister of Defence, raise in parliament or announce in public – both what has been found and how it can be improved.
Every member of the German armed forces has the right to come to the commissioner with concerns, complaints, and proposals, without first approaching a person in command.
Högl has far-reaching powers and may visit military bases at home and abroad unannounced at any time, giving her the opportunity to speak to soldiers and see conditions first-hand.
"It's very important that I am outside the chain of command, so I am absolutely independent.
"I can look wherever I want to, can talk to whom I want to. I'm fully free how I investigate certain issues," she added.
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