THE wife of a Royal Marine serving life imprisonment for murdering an Afghan insurgent has welcomed the Government's decision to release a confidential report into the killing.

Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 41, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering the wounded Afghan captive in Helmand province in September 2011.

His wife, Claire, 43, said she was "more confident" her husband would win his legal fight after the Government agreed to give a copy of the report to the Criminal Case Review Commission.

The announcement in the Commons by Defence Personnel Minister Mark Lancaster comes after a campaign was launched to re-examine Blackman's case saying the killing was manslaughter and not murder.

"Its great news and we have been calling for that report for a while now and we are really pleased that decision has been taken," Mrs Blackman told ITV Westcountry.

"It is one step at a time and we are certainly more confident than we were a few months ago.

"We are positive, we have to be, we have to keep going and let's hope it goes all the way and he comes home."

The Westminster Hall debate took place on the day the Royal Navy published a redacted 12 page executive summary of its review into the incident.

The report said Blackman had let professional standards "slip to an unacceptable low level" and that his "poor leadership was a significant contributory factor" in the way the injured man was treated by other members of the patrol.

It added: "Moral disengagement on the part of Sgt Blackman and the members of his multiple was a significant contributory factor in the handling and shooting of the insurgent.

"The difficulty experienced by Sgt Blackman in changing from a mind-set which required him to kill an enemy to one which accepted having to administer first aid to an enemy in order to try and save his life, was a contributory factor in his treatment of the insurgent."

Blackman, who was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando, quoted Shakespeare as he shot his victim in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol after the Afghan had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter.

Footage from another marine's helmet-mounted camera showed Blackman shooting the Afghan prisoner in the chest with a 9mm pistol.

Blackman was then heard telling him: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you c***. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us."

He then turned to comrades and said: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention."

During the trial at Bulford Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire two years ago, Blackman was known as Marine A.

He denied murder, saying he believed the victim was already dead and he was taking out his anger on a corpse.

Blackman, of Taunton was convicted of murder and jailed for a minimum of 10 years.

His conviction challenge was rejected by the Court Martial Appeal Court, although his minimum term was cut to eight years because of the combat stress disorder he was suffering at the time of the incident.

Mr Lancaster said publishing the report in full would "breach our ability to conduct campaigns in the future" but said the Ministry of Defence would provide the Criminal Case Review Commission with a confidential copy.

He said he hoped this would "quash" claims the MoD was trying to cover up the case.

Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax, who called the debate, described the case as a "miscarriage of justice" and said the marine had been made a scapegoat for the military who had given him an "impossible mission".

"As for Sgt Blackman, understandably he feels betrayed, a scapegoat if you like, hung out to dry by both the military and political establishment," the MP said.

"He was fighting a war at our behest and on our behalf.

"He believes his small patrol were given an impossible mission with little support or command structure, undermanned and overstretched, the impossible was demanded and a decent man was pushed beyond endurance."

Mr Drax added: "Sgt Blackman was, and is, no cold blooded killer, just a man pushed to the very edge, a man sent to do a filthy job with his hands tied behind his back.

"A man who is now no threat at all to anyone, a man who is paying a terrible price for a lapse of judgement, a man who deserves another hearing and a man who should be allowed to go home to his wife."

Author and campaigner Frederick Forsyth said the court martial that convicted Blackman "stank from top to bottom" and said the decision not to publish the full review was "disgraceful".

Forsyth said last week: "It is disgraceful that Navy top brass plan to sweep under the carpet evidence which could help Sgt Blackman."