Latest news with #ArmedForcesWeek
South Wales Argus
9 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds praises armed forces
Nick Thomas-Symonds, who represents Torfaen, attended the national flag-raising ceremony at New Palace Yard in Westminster to mark the start of Armed Forces Week. The ceremony, held on Monday, June 23, marked the beginning of a week of national events. Mr Thomas-Symonds said: "It was a solemn privilege to represent Torfaen at the Armed Forces Flag Raising Ceremony in Parliament. "We're incredibly proud of our Armed Forces community here in Torfaen, so during Armed Forces Week, it's important to show our support and thank those who protect our nation." The event was attended by MPs, military personnel, and Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov. Speeches were given by Air Commodore Philip Wadlow and defence secretary John Healey. A similar ceremony took place at Pontypool's Civic Centre. Councillor Gaynor James, Torfaen's Armed Forces champion, said: "It was an honour to speak at Torfaen Council's flag raising ceremony to mark Armed Forces Week. "Our Armed Forces community – both those currently serving and have served previously – have given so much to our country, and it's incredibly important we provide them the support necessary." She said she would continue working to ensure the armed forces community is supported across the borough.
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- General
- South Wales Guardian
Event marks the start of Armed Forces Week in Garnant
The flag-raising ceremony took place at the Cwmamman War Memorial and was attended by members of the local town council, Carmarthenshire County Council, veterans, and locals. Lt Col Craig Hampton Stone, president of the Garnant branch of the Royal British Legion, addressed the gathering. Ysgol y Bedol pupils sang (Image: Stuart Ladd) Readings and prayers for peace were given by the Reverend Susan Barnett. Pupils from Ysgol y Bedol performed songs before a student and staff member raised the flag. The flag will remain in place throughout Armed Forces Week, when local and national events show support for the armed forces community, including current personnel, service families, veterans, and cadets. The flag was raised by a pupil and staff member of Ysgol y Bedol (Image: Stuart Ladd) The week of celebrations will culminate on Saturday, June 28, with planned parades and other events in Caldicot, Swansea, and Pembrey.
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
A view from Wrexham MP, Andrew Ranger, on Armed Forces Week
This week is Armed Forces Week and a chance to show our support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets. The week culminates in Armed Forces Day on Saturday, June 28. Hightown Barracks is always a focal point for the history of the armed forces in Wrexham, dating back to 1877. Many people in Wrexham have links to the barracks, perhaps through relatives who enlisted for World War 1 there or through the commando unit based there in World War II. Others remember it as a battalion headquarters and Company location for the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Today, its role is varied as I learned from my recent visit and tour with Colonel Lock and today's armed forces face real difficulties not only after years of cuts but also in the context of a rapidly changing global situation and have my full support to meet their needs. The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill continues its progress through Parliament and will establish an independent Commissioner to serve as a direct point of contact for Armed Forces personnel and their families. The Commissioner will consider, investigate and make recommendations to address welfare issues faced by serving personnel and their families during their service life. Latest news I am privileged to have been on the Bill Committee and to therefore be part of tangible and important change for our armed services and their welfare, which has been neglected for too long. The upcoming Strategic Defence Review will tackle the state of Armed Forces accommodation. Wales's 800 forces family homes are in line to benefit from the significant investment uplift, as part of an overall £7bn in funding during this parliament. According to the House of Commons Library, there are an estimated 3,450 households in Wrexham who have at least one military veteran. Veteran support is crucial, which is why the UK Government has launched the VALOUR system to ensure easier access to essential care and support. As ever, if you have any queries or concerns or you have an issue that you would like me to try and assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01978 788854 or
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Angela Rayner pays tribute to veterans as Newsnight airs Nuked Blood special
A Newsnight report on the Nuked Blood Scandal led to questions in Parliament as Angela Rayner paid tribute to veterans Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has paid tribute to survivors of Britain's nuclear weapons experiments after Newsnight featured their story for the first time. Veterans Brian Unthank, 87, and John Morris, also 87, appeared on a special edition of the BBC's flagship political programme alongside veteran's son Steve Purse, 51, and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Mr Burnham told presenter Victoria Derbyshire that serving politicians "should be embarrassed" and "risk being complicit" if they do not act to end the injustice of a seven-decade cover-up off biological monitoring of troops who were deliberately exposed to radiation. Brian and John, who have more than 100 cancers between them, told how the results of the monitoring had subsequently been removed from their medical files, denying them war pensions and answers about the illnesses which have blighted their families. "It's heartbreaking to listen to. Why, after all these years, should they have to sit here and plead for the basic truth about what happened to them?" asked Mr Burnham. "It goes to the hart of the British state. They can blame the police for for Hillsborough, the NHS for infected blood, the Post Office for the Horizon scandal. here, what has happened is that at the heart of Whitehall, British policy was basically a preordained, systematic, brutal policy to put tens of thousands of British servicemen in the line of radiation without their knowledge, without their consent, without personal protective equipment, and then they conducted secret tests on them and denied it for decades." The programme was followed yesterday by questions in Parliament, with Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs demanding ministers take action to deliver compensation and apologies. * You can watch the programme HERE Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey told Prime Minister's Questions: "Last night, Newsnight covered the Daily Mirror's 3-year investigation into the Nuked Blood Scandal, in which thousands of troops had their blood and urine monitored, even chest x-rays, during nuclear weapons tests but the results were with from their medical records, and their suffering denied for decades. As a fierce supporter of these men and their families, who she's met with me, will the Right Honourable lady agree... that time is of the essence, and these elderly veterans deserve answers, justice, and an apology?" Angela Rayner, who was deputising for Keir Starmer, replied: "I commend her on the campaigning she's done on this issue, and I have met with some of those affected and I know the strength of feeling on this and I've heard their deeply personal testimony and experiences. "I pay tribute to all of the nuclear test veterans and their enduring contribution to our nation's security, especially during Armed Forces Week, and we're looking into unresolved questions regarding their medical records... as a priority." Tewkesbury MP Cameron Thomas told the Commons: "In 1957, my constituent Ronald Clark was among 22,000 UK personnel exposed to nuclear testing on Christmas Island. These veterans and their descendants have suffered various cancers, crippling illnesses, and deformities, but the MoD has never accepted liability. Noting the Deputy Prime Minister's response to her honourable friend, it doesn't quite go far enough. Time is running out. Will she meet with me, my constituent and these veterans to determine appropriate compensation?" Ms Rayner replied that "the Minister for Veterans will be happy to meet with him and the veterans to discuss this issue". A records review was ordered in November after a million people saw a devastating BBC documentary on the scandal. But despite two meetings with Veterans Minister Al Carns, and more than 19,000 documents examined already, the review has no budget, no deadline, and no results. The Mirror's investigation has uncovered thousands of pages of evidence about blood and urine tests, testing data, and the names of servicemen ordered to take part in the experiments, on a secret database at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. They were classified as state secrets, with officials refusing access to veterans, relatives, and even lawyers. That database, along with misleading statements given to courts and Parliament, is now the subject of a police complaint. A £5bn civil lawsuit is also underway. An anti-scandal law promised by Keir Starmer is expected to include "a huge carve-out" for matters of military and national security, which would enable public officials in those areas to lie without any criminal sanction.
Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Mounted Life Guards hit the beach — and other news in pictures
A guest takes a selfie with Larry, the Downing Street cat, outside No 10 during a reception to mark Armed Forces Week, which celebrates the contributions of service personnel and their families across the UK THOMAS KRYCH/STORY PICTURE AGENCY Clive Myrie and Sir Mo Farah take part in the academic procession to the Sheldonian Theatre before Oxford University's annual Encaenia ceremony, where honorary degrees are awarded JACOB KING/PA A defiant protester in front of a burning barricade in central Nairobi during a demonstration marking one year since the storming of Kenya's parliament, the deadliest day of anti-government unrest LUIS TATO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Fog drifts over farmland in the Kaipara Hills, softening the ridgelines and trees in the rural landscape north of Auckland, New Zealand FIONA GOODALL/GETTY IMAGES DUNCAN MCGLYNN Children cool off in fountains during the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety's Spray & Play event at Pete Mitchell City Center Park in Michigan DON CAMPBELL/THE HERALD-PALLADIUM/AP A policeman grapples with a cyclist as Extinction Rebellion protesters block the A12 highway in the Hague during a demonstration against the Nato summit, which is being hosted in the Netherlands for the first time SEBASTIAAN BAREL/EPA XNY/STAR MAX/GC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES Liziano Ostiana performs a free running flip above Siebe van de Spijker, left, and Dez Maarsen during a media preview of Elements of Freestyle by ISH Dance Collective at the Sydney Opera House DON ARNOLD/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES Kristi Noem, the US secretary of homeland security, boards the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba in Panama City for a meeting on drug interception during a regional visit focused on immigration and security partnerships in Central America ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES Myo Min Aung, a veterinarian, tends to ten-month-old baby elephant Kyaw Pearl at Wingabaw Elephant Camp in Phayargyi, Myanmar, after the calf was rescued with injuries from the wild SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Flamingos fly over pink salt flats in the Camargue region of southern France, their dark shadows trailing across the patterned ground below. The vivid colour of the landscape comes from Dunaliella salina, a pink microalgae found in the salt lakes and evaporation ponds Nadia El-Nakla, a councillor and wife of the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf, examines Palestinian dresses at V&A Dundee as part of Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine, an exhibition marking 45 years of the city's twinning with Nablus JANE BARLOW/PA A visitor takes a leap from a 50-metre crane at Coram's Fields in central London, where new electric car brand Leapmotor is offering free bungee jumps alongside test drives in an unusual marketing ploy WILL IRELAND/SWNS Mae Ann Jorolan and Luke Brady take centre stage with the cast during the curtain call for Disney's Hercules at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES Two black-necked cranes mirror each other in a territorial display on a wetland in Ladakh, India, raising their heads and calling out to defend their nesting site in the high-altitude landscape HEMANT KUMAR/SOLENT NEWS Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit, poses with sculptures from Gromit Unleashed 3 during the launch event in Bristol, where a heritage steam train delivered characters designed in collaboration with Pixar, Lucasfilm, Sir Paul McCartney and others for a public art trail across the city FINNBARR WEBSTER/GETTY IMAGES Brothers Leo, 2, and Raphey Almeida, 3, explore a neon-painted T-Rex named King Rexford the Great by artist Laura Alp, part of a vibrant dinosaur trail at Furzey Gardens in the New Forest featuring 50 prehistoric installations among the plants SIMON CZAPP/SOLENT NEWS
