TORY leadership contender Jeremy Hunt and Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt backed The Sun’s campaign to end the war on our forces’ veterans.
We are demanding that the next PM backs our Veterans’ Pledge, calling for world-class care for former Armed Forces personnel.
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The charities Help for Heroes and Combat Stress are supporting our campaign, which also calls for an end to witch-hunts into historic allegations against troops.
The Sun also wants an end to the postcode lottery of the Military Covenant – enshrined in law in 2011 and intended to ensure medical aid, housing and other services but often ignored by the authorities.
Mr Hunt vowed that if he becomes PM he will “bang heads together” to co-ordinate help for vets across Whitehall.
The development means if Mr Hunt wins the race to succeed Theresa May, he will;
- End the scourge of vexatious historical investigations in Northern Ireland with a new law by the next election
- Set up an independent vets department to “bang heads together” and coordinate help for them across Whitehall, Mr Hunt said
- Fulfil a longstanding Tory promise to enshrine the Armed Forces Covenant in law to give troops and vets legal protection from any disadvantage from their service.
Speaking to The Sun yesterday, Mr Hunt said of the covenant: “We need to copper bottom our promise. That means putting it into law, and we should do so as quickly as possible”.
On vets’ prosecutions, the Foreign Secretary revealed of his ex-Admiral father: “My dad was responsible for Northern Ireland for part of his time, so I know what it’s like to have a member of your family on the front line against terrorism.
“It is absolutely appalling that 40 years on from Bloody Sunday people are finding themselves dragged through the courts after risking life and limb for our security.
“The process is not working at the moment. I t has to be done in a way that supports the Good Friday Agreement, but we have got to find a way of ending these vexatious claims.”
‘OUR GI BILL MOMENT’
And Ms Mordaunt said in the Commons: “Can I welcome The Sun’s campaign today.
“We will shortly be bringing forward the first stage to legislate on closing down litigation against our Armed Forces for historic allegations.”
She also announced a major review into how the Ministry of Defence treats veterans.
The Sun is also calling for an Office of Veterans’ Affairs within the Cabinet Office, with a Cabinet-level Minister.
Tory MP and ex-officer Johnny Mercer said: “It’s our GI Bill moment, a chance to emulate the US treatment of its veterans.
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“The Sun and our major care-givers today demand a tangible commitment to do by our veterans our duty we should have done some years ago.”
Britain has 83,000 veterans still suffering mental or physical injuries from wars of the last 25 years, recent research found.
Here we speak to veterans and their families supporting The Sun’s campaign . . .
The Sun Says
IT’S heartening to hear warm words of support for The Sun’s Veterans’ Pledge from both Jeremy Hunt and the Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt.
As we reveal today, though, actions are more important. There are too many who have bravely served our country but fall through the gaps.
We are convinced that real change will only happen with a Cabinet Minister drawing together the whole of the Government’s efforts, and if charities are given the support they need.
We cannot fail those who never failed us.
Forgotten veteran 1
FORMER Royal Green Jacket Gary Driscoll thought he had emerged from his tour of Northern Ireland relatively unscathed – until he developed post-traumatic stress disorder, 12 years after he left the Army.
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The former colour sergeant then had to rely on the support of a charity to help him overcome his problems.
Londoner Gary, now 59, says: “On the first patrol in Belfast as part of a nine-month tour I was shot at.
“The rounds missed me by inches, hitting the wall behind me. But this was not a battlefield, it was a housing estate. A lot of friends were killed.
“When you are on tour in a conflict zone such as Northern Ireland you have to remain switched on the whole time. When you leave the Army there is no off switch.
“There is supposed to be a covenant for the Armed Forces whereby the Government provides the support we need.
‘VICIOUS CIRCLE’
“But lots of soldiers get into a vicious circle due to mental health issues because they don’t receive help.
“When you were out on patrol the last thing you’d admit to is being scared, so soldiers don’t always ask for support. We need to make sure the authorities are looking for signs early on.
“In many ways I am lucky, because I have my own house, I’m happily married, I have a day job running a post room and a weekend job as a singer.
“But 12 years after I left the Army I started to get symptoms of PTSD, which my wife recognised before I noticed anything.
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“I suffered nightmares, started drinking to excess and started to do things which were out of character, such as challenging people on the Underground and going to dodgy pubs on my own, looking for danger.
“I think it was Northern Ireland coming to the front of my head. Eventually I agreed to go and ask for support, and the wife found a charity called Combat Stress who were willing to assess me.
“I was lucky I caught it early and I haven’t needed to go back for any therapy for five years.
“But I know many veterans are not so fortunate to have received that kind of treatment.”
Forgotten veteran 2
SAS hero Bob Curry stormed the Iranian Embassy to rescue hostages – but last year he was refused a council house when he was made homeless.
The 65-year-old, who helped to save 19 lives during the London siege in 1980, had lost his house in Hereford after his business collapsed and he split up with his partner.
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He says: “When I lost my home the council wouldn’t even put me on the housing list – they told me I didn’t qualify. They were so arrogant.
“In a private meeting one housing officer asked me, ‘Have you been out of the military five years?’ and when I said ‘Yes’, he threw his pencil across the table, held his arms and huffed.
“In Hereford, because I had been out of the military for five years, I was no longer considered to be a veteran.
“I said to them, ‘All of those men and women standing at the Cenotaph on the 11th of the 11th aren’t veterans any more?’ and he replied, ‘Not in Hereford, they’re not’.
‘PROMISES HAVE NOT BEEN KEPT’
“Out of the homeless population in Britain, 13 per cent are veterans, and I believe there should be a dedicated officer for the ex-military in every council. I definitely back The Sun’s Veterans’ Pledge, because promises have not been kept.
“Politicians talk about a covenant but when you start dealing with bureaucracy, no one cares. You have got to look after these people, because they looked after the country.
“Lots of veterans on the street don’t have any paperwork. I had to prove everything three times – three lots of proof.
“I was in a halfway house for a couple of nights, which was hell. I kipped on my daughter’s couch for a month and then the SAS Regimental Association paid for me to be put up in a B&B.
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“But if it hadn’t been for them and The Sun, who campaigned to get me the bungalow I’m living in now, nothing would have happened.
“I was 18 years in the forces. I did Northern Ireland, I did the Iranian Embassy and the Falklands. We need to do more for squaddies when they leave the service.
“It starts with making sure they have a roof over their head and they have someone to talk to with the transition into civilian life.
“It’s no wonder so many veterans wander off to the woods with a bit of rope.”
Forgotten veteran 3
LANCE Bombardier Ben Parkinson MBE is Britain’s most seriously injured veteran.
The former paratrooper, who is now 34, lost both legs and suffered a broken pelvis and spine, as well as brain damage, when his military Land Rover hit an anti-tank mine in Afghanistan 13 years ago.
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He was initially awarded just £152,000 by the MoD under its statutory compensation scheme for service personnel injured in combat.
After a campaign it was increased to £570,000, which his family used to buy him a bungalow and fit it out with specialist equipment.
Ben’s full-time carers, his mum Diane Dernie and stepdad Andrew, have valiantly battled for years to make sure his care is properly funded.
Diane says: “I back The Sun’s campaign because we need to treat our veterans like heroes, just like the Americans do.
‘THEY SHOULDN’T BE DISADVANTAGED’
“The next Prime Minister needs to make this a top priority. We thought the Military Covenant had been enshrined in law, but it turns out it depends how your local area interprets it.
“We also thought that veterans would get preferential referencing for medical services and things like that, but it also turns out that’s not the case. All that’s agreed is that they shouldn’t be disadvantaged.
“Well, of course they shouldn’t be disadvantaged, there shouldn’t be any question of that. They should be advantaged. It’s one step forward and two back.”
Diane, 61, adds: “The lawyers who launch witch-hunt investigations against veterans are making money out of other people’s heroism and service to their country. That’s unspeakable.
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“Ben left the Army this year. The bill for his rehabilitation is about £36,000 a year and he gets £24,000 towards that. That figure is under review but we consider ourselves lucky to have got that.
“We had to threaten legal action to get it. Ben has a deep love of the Army and thinks everyone must have his best interests at heart.
“Behind the scenes we’ve been fighting the MoD and it’s nearly finished me. We sold a property where we were going to retire to, to take legal action.
“The funding is nowhere near enough. It’s a starting point and it gives us a chance to let Ben carry on. Ben’s happy when he’s busy but it takes a hell of a lot of support to make sure he has a life worth living.”
- Are you or your family affected? We want to hear your story. Email brief details and a contact number to features@the-sun.co.uk
It is vital for the Tory leadership contenders to be signed up to the Veterans’ Pledge
by Melanie Waters, CEO Help for Heroes
HELP for Heroes firmly believes that those who have given so much for this country deserve a fair deal.
But too often, this just isn’t the case.
We hear from those we support about unacceptable waiting times for treatment, health services that don’t properly understand their needs and the sometimes devastating impacts on their wellbeing of leaving the military as a result of injury or illness.
Most recently, we have been calling for veterans with complex rehabilitation needs to be given better access to the MoD’s state-of- the-art rehabilitation centre, Stanford Hall.
An Office of Veterans’ Affairs would ensure all government departments are issuing policies which recognise their responsibility to those who have served, while having a Cabinet-level Minister would ensure the needs of our veterans are heard at the highest level.
While the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant were enshrined in law in 2011, there are currently no consequences if the Covenant is not properly applied.
We believe this needs to change, to properly deliver on the promise that no individual should be disadvantaged as a result of their service in the Armed Forces.
Help for Heroes has supported more than 22,000 wounded personnel and their families to date, but we know more can be done for them – which is why we believe it is vital for the Tory leadership contenders to be signed up to the Veterans’ Pledge and put the needs of wounded heroes back on the agenda.
