'On a battlefield moral resources under stress'

Sergeant Alexander Blackman, the royal marine who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan five years ago, has had his case referred back to the military appeal court.

The case has attracted a huge amount of publicity in the three years since Blackman was sent to jail because it raises important questions as to how a soldier is expected to behave when he is under extreme stress.

Blackman's commanding officer In Helmand was Colonel Oliver Lee. He resigned his commission soon after he was sentenced.

(Image: Sergeant Alexander Blackman, credit: PA)