Press
Release: MEP CALLS FOR GREATER RESPECT OF ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL AND THEIR
FAMILIES
On the day of the Bomber Command memorial
unveiling, one West Midlands MEP has spoken out about the treatment of our
armed forces.
Independent MEP Nikki Sinclaire is a member of the
Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, and spoke out on BBC WM. The section on the
radio show also highlighted the news item of the day yesterday; Service
personnel in uniform being turned away from Browns in Coventry on the day of a
colleagues funeral.
Ms Sinclaire told Pete Morgan on his breakfast
show,
“The Royal British Legion have a motto of ‘Honour
the dead, remember the living’ and I think it’s paradoxical that when we have
the unveiling of the new Bomber Command Memorial, that we do not treat our
current servicemen with respect.
There are redundancies, there are problems with
dental care, with schooling – we need to treat our servicemen with respect”
The MEP was quick to note that current conflicts
may not be popular, but this is not a reason to treat our service personnel
poorly,
“These are not our soldier’s faults. If you don’t
like these wars, then take them out on the politicians.”
As a part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary
Scheme, Nikki undertook a visit to Afghanistan and got to speak to soldiers
about their concerns.
Recalling this trip, Nikki Sinclaire told Pete,
“One of the messages I actually brought back from
my visit is that people didn’t think that they were being appreciated or
actually understood what work they were doing out there.
They were worried that the welfare of their
families was not being taken seriously.
We need to have something in place. The Government
has promised us this military covenant, and I’ve spoken to every local
authority throughout this region with a mixed response.
We have a real problem and we owe a real duty to
these people who put their lives on the line so we have our freedom. We need to
appreciate that freedom, and we need to respect and honour them”
Nikki will be present at an event Worcester’s
county hall tomorrow to witness the signing of the military covenant.
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