Insult and injury

The only criticism that can be made is that it has taken so long for the Government to grasp that it is simply unacceptable to ask soldiers, sailors and air-force crews to put their lives on their line for this country and then to treat them in a curmudgeonly, mean-spirited way when they turn to their employer for help and support.

It would be gratifying to believe that the decision by Defence

Secretary Bob Ainsworth to implement the findings of Lord Boyce's review of compensation signals a change of heart in the MoD and a realisation that the Ministry needs to pay far greater attention to its duty of care. Given the Ministry's recent form, however, this seems somewhat unlikely.

No one disputes that the MoD needs to keep a close eye on costs, nor

that callous indifference towards veterans is anything but a new phenomenon. On the contrary, it has characterised official attitudes throughout history. However, in a supposedly more enlightened age and at a time of costly involvement in overseas conflicts, a greater commitment to the needs of those serving in the front line might be expected.

Instead, military hospitals have been closed, injuries and disabilities are being legally challenged and a National Audit Office report has now revealed that UK hospitals are under such severe pressure from large numbers of injured troops that civilians may have to be moved out.

In these circumstances, increased compensation should not be an end in itself, but the beginning of a sea-change in the Government's attitude to those who risk life and limb for this country.