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'Better deal for heroes' pledge as deaths blamed on PM
FORMER soldiers would get funding to train as teachers or go to university under Conservative plans to be unveiled today.
The pledge – one of a series of measures to be outlined at the party conference aimed at improving the deal offered to troops – comes as the man who chaired a Tory commission into the military covenant laid the blame for the death of 60 troops at the door of Gordon Brown.
Author Frederick Forsyth spoke out as the Tory conference opened, claiming the Prime Minister was to blame because he refused to adequately fund the armed forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan during his time as Chancellor.
"I believe 60 young men died out there who need never have died, should never have died and would never have died if they had not been asked to do their job with dysfunctional equipment or not enough of it," he said.
"A large part of this derives from the repeated refusals to release funds... to permit the purchases that would have saved those lives. That was down overwhelmingly to the man who was from 1997-2007 the Chancellor of the Exchequer."
Mr Forsyth, whose fellow commission member Simon Weston, the Falklands hero, also spoke yesterday, urged the Tories to carry out a strategic defence review now so they are in a position to act swiftly if they win the next election. The commission has made more than 50 recommendations on how troops could be better treated.
Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the Tories would make a series of policy ann-ouncements during the conference to improve the deal offered to troops risking their lives.
Today Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove will unveil plans to give up to 200 ex-Service personnel a year bursaries of up to 9,000 to help them train as teachers in a move that could also help on discipline in classrooms.
Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan would also be allowed to attend university for free under the Tories' proposals in a pledge which matches a similar commitment made by the Government recently. Up to 1,000 ex-Service people a year would be expected to take part.
In the United States the Troops to Teachers programme helps ex-soldiers make the transition to the classroom. The so-called GI Bill, introduced after the Second World War, gave returning sold-iers the chance to attend college.
Mr Gove will say: "In 1945 the American government honoured the men and women who'd fought against fascism – the greatest generation – with a piece of legis-lation, the GI Bill, which granted returning heroes the right to free university education.
"The young men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are heroes of our time, their sacrifices in the cause of freedom make them the greatest of our generation, and they deserve the thanks of all of us. That is why a Conservative government will honour their service by guaranteeing them the right to free university education.
"And we will make sure that the sort of training only the armed forces can provide is available to young people across the country, in our areas of greatest need, by expanding Skill Force"
The charity trains former armed forces leaders to address schools in disadvantaged areas.
Defence Minister Bob Ains-worth said: "The Government have already pledged to implem-ent many of these proposals, for example providing free tuition fees for Service leavers up to first degree level, as part of the Serv-ice Personnel Command Paper."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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