Just five days before Private Stuart Mackenzie was due to stand trial, the Army admitted it had no legal jurisdiction over the case.
It is understood that the prosecution could not prove that MacKenzie, who was serving with the Lancastrian & Cumbrian volunteers, was on duty when the pictures were taken.
If he was found guilty of staging the photographs, which showed Iraqi prisoners being urinated on and kicked, Mackenzie would have faced up to two years in jail charged with misusing military equipment.
Morgan, who was sacked just hours after the regiment at the centre of the hoax story called for a public apology, said he felt "totally vindicated". Morgan was replaced at the paper by the Sunday Mirror's deputy editor Richard Wallace.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Morgan said: "It is about time the government and the Ministry of Defence and the Queen's Lanacashire regiment put up some real evidence."
After a two-month Royal Military Police investigation, it was proved that the photos were fake and that the vehicles shown in the shots had never been used in Iraq.
Action against Mackenzie can only be taken at a non-military court and the Crown Prosecution Service now has to decide whether to take the case further.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
