Political opinion with Andrew Griffith MP: First duty of any government is security of the realm

During my time in Parliament, I have had a certain amount of exposure to members of our armed forces, and I am consistently inspired by their courage, discipline, and unwavering commitment to duty.

I hope it is obvious to all that we live in a time of great geopolitical uncertainty, and we shall need to spend far more on defence. There are lots which I disagree with Trump about but on the need for NATO members and European countries to step up and shoulder more of the burden he is correct.

However, money and military ‘kit’ is not all it takes. We need soldiers, sailors and aircrew willing to fight. For this to happen, they have to know the country and our political leaders have their backs.

That is why I am appalled by the vote in Parliament last week to scrap the vital legal protections the previous government put in place for our veterans. By voting to reopen the door to historical investigations, Labour and their Liberal Democrat enablers have effectively restarted the "lawfare" that has haunted our service personnel for decades. We are talking about veterans now in their 70s and 80s who are being dragged back through the courts for actions taken half a century ago in the service of the Crown.

This government is sending a dangerous message that the legal and moral contract between the state and the soldier is volatile and changeable. As nine, four star generals and seven leaders of the SAS have warned, this creates a massive disincentive for the next generation to join the forces. Why sign up to defend this country if, decades later, you might be sacrificed for political expediency.

This is a reckless dismantling of our norms at the public's expense. I was proud to vote against this disastrous measure and I will continue to stand up for our veterans. To weaken them is to weaken Britain.