Ministers should rethink whether to apply British military law to foreign troops training in the UK, the shadow defence secretary has said.

Maria Eagle said serious offences committed by Libyan trainees during a stay at Bassingbourn Barracks in Oxfordshire meant the issue had to be fully considered by Parliament.

Speaking during the second reading debate on the Armed Forces Bill, Ms Eagle questioned the decision of Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt to rule out the move following a Government review into last year's incidents.

Five Libyan soldiers were jailed after two trials earlier this year following a series of sex attacks in Cambridge on October 26 last year.

The Armed Forces Bill renews the military's peacetime mandate, makes provision for amendments to the rules of military justice and updates rules on Ministry of Defence firefighters.

Ms Eagle said: "One area that's not considered at present is how UK disciplinary procedures apply to foreign troops who are trained by British personnel on British soil.

"Following the serious and regrettable incidents last year involving the recruits from the Libyan general purpose force, undertaking training at Bassingbourn camp, the Government published a summary report which looked at the Libyan training programme.

"It's important lessons are learned from that very serious incident and that foreign troops who come to the UK to train with our military adhere to the same code of conduct as British troops.

"It's equally important that disciplinary procedures can be put into effect swiftly in cases where criminal offences are committed - the minister appears to be saying it is too difficult to do this at present.

"These matters included very serious crimes of sexual assault and rape."

Former Army colonel turned Conservative MP Bob Stewart warned: "The argument about people visiting this country and being subject to our military law - a very big worry would be we don't want other nations to apply their military law to our servicemen when our servicemen allegedly do something wrong in their country.

"We want our military law to extend to our servicemen wherever they are in the world."

Ms Eagle said: "I appreciate such issues the minister must have found looking into it are very complex and difficult. I think it is important given the seriousness of those incidents and the fact the Government undertook to look at this to have a full discussion about why they have come to the conclusion they have.

"I have not said I disagree with that conclusion but I think the House needs to probe fully why the current decision has been made."