Military Resettlement, Business, Training & Recruitment
George Osborne says military personnel and civil servants in Cyprus facing levy on savings will be compensated The government is to protect the savings of British military personnel and civil servants in Cyprus who were facing the prospect of a levy as part of the €10bn (£8.7bn) eurozone bailout on the Mediterranean island, George Osborne has announced.
Lance Corporal James Ashworth, 23, died in a grenade explosion as he tried to protect his men in Helmand A British soldier who died as he protected the lives of his comrades in Afghanistan is to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The medal recognises Lance Corporal James Ashworth’s “extraordinary courage” while serving with the 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards in Helmand province last year. The Victoria Cross, the country’s highest award for gallantry, has been awarded just 10 times to UK soldiers since the second world war
The author of a report into links between young British ex-servicemen and violent crime discusses the study’s findings
Authors say finding raises questions over how men who have served in armed forces are supported back in UK Young British men who have served in the armed forces are three times more likely to have been convicted of violent offences than their civilian peers, according to a study published on Friday.
Philip Hammond rubbishes proposals for Scottish defence force, saying officers would miss opportunities of British military Alex Salmond’s government has been accused of offering “woefully thin” and “juvenile” proposals for an independent Scottish military by the defence secretary, Philip Hammond.
It’s ten years since Iraq was invaded. What kind of country has been left behind – how many people died and what was the effect on the US and UK military
Court of appeal orders retrial after sergeant’s lawyers argue he was put under pressure to plead guilty An SAS sniper has had his convictions for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition quashed by the court of appeal. Danny Nightingale, 38, of Crewe, Cheshire, had been sentenced to 18 months’ military detention by a judge sitting in a military court in November 2012 after admitting he should not have stored a Glock 9mm pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition at his army lodgings.
Lawyer for Sergeant Danny Nightingale says he was put under ‘undue pressure’ to plead guilty at military court An SAS sniper jailed for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition has tried to persuade the court of appeal to overturn his convictions. Sergeant Danny Nightingale, of Crewe, Cheshire, was sentenced to 18 months’ military detention by a judge sitting in a military court in early November after admitting illegally possessing a Glock 9mm pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition. The court of appeal concluded in late November that the sentence was too harsh.
Military charities call on Ministry of Defence to provide more support for ‘weekend warriors’ Ministers must find more money to support thousands of army reservists as evidence grows that part-timers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to suffer from serious mental health illnesses than regular soldiers who served alongside them, two leading military charities are warning. Amid concerns there will be a sharp increase in the overall number of veterans needing expert help over the next five years, the Royal British Legion and Combat Stress say the government must focus on the so-called “weekend warriors” who have become a mainstay of British military operations and will be used to cover deep cuts to the full-time army
With army reservists set to fill gaps left by military cuts, it is time to seriously address their mental health needs The government plans to reduce the number of regulars in the British army to 82,000 by 2018 and increase the role played by reservists, bringing their numbers up to 30,000.
In the first of a three-part series marking the 10th anniversary of the invasion, an army officer tells how he lost his marriage, his career and, for a while, his mind through PTSD Captain Edward Bland left Iraq on an emergency flight in July 2006, airlifted out of the country on a “casualty evacuation” military plane that took off from the Shaibah base, where he had been treated in hospital for a week. His thoughts were scrambled that hot morning as the RAF C-17 arced into the sky. He knew he would not return to combat, and he knew his career in the army, which had been so promising, was over
Pressure prompts work and pensions secretary to exempt foster carers and armed forces personnel from controversial tax The work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, has announced a partial U-turn on the government’s controversial bedroom tax, exempting foster carers and armed forces personnel who live at home. The concessions were announced in a written ministerial statement after weeks of growing political pressure over the policy.
Authorities focus on alleged safety breaches after ranger was shot while resting in “secure area” in west Wales live-fire range A British soldier who died when he was hit by a machine-gun bullet at a live-firing range in west Wales was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury has ruled. Ranger Michael Maguire, 20, was shot in the head as he relaxed after removing his armour and helmet at the range in Pembrokeshire
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Allegations of unlawful killing and mistreatment of prisoners by British soldiers denied by officers and troops involved Allegations that British soldiers tortured and unlawfully killed Iraqi prisoners after a firefight in 2004 are “utterly groundless” and were exploited in support of a propaganda campaign against the occupation of the country, a public inquiry heard on Monday. The killing and mistreatment claims are denied by each of the officers and men involved in that engagement, and by those involved in the capture and interrogation of Iraqis in its aftermath, Neil Garnham QC, counsel for the troops, told the inquiry. “They are denied on the basis that they are wholly untrue,” he said
Troops take part in Exercise Hairspring 2013, which focuses on cold weather survival and warfare training
Northern Ireland secretary rules out deployment of troops to back up police despite upsurge in violence The Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, says the British army will not be returning to the Northern Ireland’s streets. The secretary of state ruled out deploying any soldiers to back up the Police Service of Northern Ireland to counter the continued threat from dissident republicans as well as the recent upsurge in loyalist street disorder linked to the union flag protests. Asked if troops might be needed to support the PSNI, Villiers told the BBC Politics Show on Sunday that there was “no prospect” of a military presence on the streets
Cases of insurgents captured by the UK military after 2004 battle in south-east Iraq being heard at al-Sweady inquiry in London British military doctors failed to give any pain relief to Iraqi insurgents with gunshot wounds – although they did check their pulses and breathing before they were sent for interrogation, a public inquiry into allegations of murder and the abuse of unarmed prisoners by UK forces heard on Thursday. One man who had three bullet wounds and several shrapnel wounds to his right leg and foot says he told an army doctor that he was “in agony”, but his detention record showed that he received no analgesics.
Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations against British troops hears captured Iraqis were played recordings of screams to scare them Iraqis captured by British troops were told they had been taken to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, used by Saddam Hussein and after the invasion by US forces, and said recordings of screams as though someone was being tortured were played to scare them, a public inquiry into allegations of murder and abuse of unarmed prisoners by UK forces heard on Wednesday. The prisoners alleged they were abused and humiliated after they were taken from a camp north of Basra to a British detention centre at Shaibah further south, Jonathan Acton Davis QC, counsel to the al-Sweady inquiry, said.
British troops alleged to have murdered up to 20 prisoners after a fierce battle in May 2004, and tortured five other captives Photographs of dead Iraqis taken by a British army officer after a battle in the south-east of the country may be the key to establishing whether they were killed during that encounter or murdered after being taken prisoner, a public inquiry heard on Tuesday.
Defence secretary to announce accelerated pullout, which will require £1bn spend on new UK housing for troops More than 11,000 troops currently based in Germany will return to Britain within three years as part of a major restructuring of the army that will require ministers to spend £1bn on new military homes. The announcement on Tuesday marks a sharp acceleration of the withdrawal of British forces in Germany, which have been stationed there since the end of the second world war.
Defending the bill that would allow for secret courts, Ken Clarke favoured bracing pub rhetoric over fusspotty legal precedent The Commons has debated the justice and security bill.
Al-Sweady inquiry into accusations against British troops opens with evidence of alleged signs of torture on prisoners A public inquiry into allegations that British troops murdered up to 20 unarmed prisoners and tortured five others following a fierce battle with Iraqi insurgents has opened in London with evidence that some of their death certificates recorded what were described as signs of severe mutilation. Several of the deceased were said to bear signs of torture after their corpses were handed back to their families by British personnel at Camp Abu Naji, while the Iraqi death certificates recorded that one man’s penis had been removed and two bodies were missing eyes, the inquiry was told on Monday. But there is a “stark dispute” between the relatives of the dead men and the Ministry of Defence over the way in which the deaths occurred, said Jonathan Acton Davis QC, counsel to the inquiry.
MoD rejects allegations British soldiers killed 20 unarmed civilians and abused others detained after battle north of Basra Allegations that British soldiers killed 20 unarmed civilians and abused others detained after a battle with Shia insurgents north of Basra in 2004 – the most serious allegations made against British soldiers in Iraq – are the subject of a public inquiry that opens on Monday. The al-Sweady inquiry – named after the family of Hamid, an alleged victim aged 19 – was forced on the Ministry of Defence in 2009 after high court judges accused it of “lamentable” behaviour and “serious breaches” of its duty of candour
Philip Hammond says defending country should be first priority and that savings should be made from benefits bill first The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, has warned that he will resist further cuts to the armed forces in George Osborne’s forthcoming spending review. He told the Daily Telegraph that other Tory cabinet ministers believed the greatest burden of any cuts should fall on the welfare budget.