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Armed Forces: Wounded Personnel

It is very apposite that we are having this debate today, only a couple of hours after the Secretary of State issued his service personnel Command Paper and made an oral Statement in the other place. Part of that Statement says: "““I understand that no amount of money can ever make up for the pain and sacrifice that these brave people have endured. However, we need to recognise the special nature of their sacrifice””." I very much welcome the Command Paper and the overall improvements in the financial package and similar that are set out today. That phrase from the Secretary of State gives me encouragement and I await with interest the Minister’s reply to the debate. We will keep our fingers crossed. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, on inaugurating this debate and on his comprehensive and persuasive speech. I also pay similar tribute to the Daily Mirror for its Honour the Brave campaign, and to Colonel Kemp. The noble Lord referred to the Early Day Motion in November, which had no less than 330 signatures. The EDM says: "““That this House””—" that is the other place— "““recognises the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of members of the armed forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq; applauds the Daily Mirror's Honour the Brave campaign; and calls on the Government to ensure that all personnel in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force killed or wounded in enemy action are awarded a medal””." As has been said, the Government have gone some way towards answering and acknowledging the EDM. Once again the precedent of the American Purple Heart, which was first awarded in 1917, was referred to. In Britain, in the two world wars, wound stripes were sewn on to a soldier’s uniform. Sadly, the practice then fell into disuse. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Bramall, a former Chief of the Defence Staff, has gone on record as acknowledging his pride in wearing the wound stripes himself. I fully accept that a service man or woman who was injured would appreciate financial compensation more than anything else, which is why we appreciate what was announced today. But all the evidence is that wounded military personnel would appreciate an extra medal—and I use the word ““medal”” metaphorically, rather than in an exact literal sense. At a time when our service men and women feel unappreciated, when recruiting is difficult and tours of duty are longer and more frequent, and when, as the Secretary of State and defence chiefs have acknowledged, there is considerable stress on our forces and overstretch, I believe, as does my party, that it is more important than ever to do all we can to acknowledge the debt that we owe our service personnel and honour the covenant. I believe, as the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, believes, that a medal for the seriously wounded would help and would play a part. I accept, as he accepted, that there are some problems with definitions—with someone’s mental as compared with their physical condition and with those who are wounded and killed in the normal course of combat or by friendly fire. These are possible difficulties, but they could be overcome, given the will, and the balance is very much in favour of awarding the medals to which the noble Lord referred.