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First World War Soldiers (Pardons)

I am sorry that I could not be here at the beginning of the debate. I have listened to the Minister and the Opposition Front-Bench spokesman, the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis), and I must say that the tenor of the remarks disturbs me. My granddad, Tom King, was born in 1899. He was a captain's runner in the first world war, hopping between trenches, and it is amazing that he survived to return; indeed, he joined the Labour party when he did. I know, from the stories that he told me of the horrors that he faced in the trenches, that for him the most disorientating time of all was going on leave, because the Germans knew when he and his fellow soldiers were going and used to shell the trains, so they never knew where they stood. I heard from him how badly affected most, if not all, those young people were. It has been a surprise to me that, since 1997, my Labour Government, and my granddad's Labour party, have not been persuaded to take steps to make pardons possible for some of those soldiers suffering from shell shock.