The Defence Secretary has asked the Attorney General to review the conviction of an SAS sniper jailed for possessing a gun.
Philip Hammond has written to the Government's top legal officer, Dominic Grieve, to ask him to review whether the prosecution was properly handled.
Sgt Danny Nightingale is serving an 18-month sentence in military detention after pleading guilty to having a prohibited firearm and ammunition.
The father of two, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffers medical problems which affect his memory and says he did not remember having the weapon, which was a gift from Iraqi soldiers he had been training.
MPs will raise concerns about his case with Solicitor General Oliver Heald later today after Canterbury MP Julian Brazier secured a debate in the House of Commons.
The Ministry of Defence said: "The Defence Secretary.. has written to the Attorney General asking him to review whether the public interest test has been applied appropriately in this case."
SAS veterans have been outraged over the case, and four special forces veterans, including the former commanding officer of the SAS, have written an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, claiming Sgt Nightingale was "the victim of a monstrous miscarriage of justice".
Sgt Nightingale pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a 9mm Glock pistol which had been packed up and returned to him by colleagues after he had to leave Iraq in a hurry to help organise the funeral of two friends killed in action.
He also admitted possessing ammunition.
The court martial heard that the gun was a gift from Iraqi soldiers he had been helping to train, but the father-of-two, who had suffered medical problems affecting his memory, said he did not remember having it.
Sgt Nightingale's father Humphrey has told Sky News his son was bullied into pleading guilty at the court martial.
Humphrey Nightingale said: "We knew Danny was not guilty but the judge made it quite clear that if he did not plead guilty he would be sent to a civilian jail for a minimum of five years.
"Our hands were tied and we had no other option - Danny has a lovely wife and a young family. We expected a lenient sentence - maybe suspended - but instead he was sentenced to 18 months."
Lawyers for Sgt Nightingale plan to lodge an appeal against his conviction and sentence later this week, as well as applying for bail.
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