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Armed Forces Bill

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, the hon. Gentleman has neglected to understand that we have regular volunteer forces which are frequently on operations. Almost everyone I know in the forces spends up to six months every year away on operations. Everybody understands that if they have a moral difficulty with the orders that they have been given, they can represent their views to their commanders in a responsible way. Those who choose to let down their comrades by simply going absent and then deserting need to be discouraged, and we need a serious tariff to deter them.