Royal British Legion thanks MP for help in improving conditions for troops

3.25.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 29th Jul 2008

Mark has been a staunch supporter of the Royal British Legion's Honour the Covenant campaign

This week a number of MPs including Cheadle MP Mark Hunter received a letter of thanks from the Royal British Legion for their help and support with the 'Honour the Covenant' campaign.

The letter from the Royal British Legion came after the Secretary of State for Defence tabled the Service Personnel Command Paper in Parliament. The paper announced the Government's plans to improve compensation, health care, housing and education for the Armed Forces and Veterans.

In the letter the Royal British Legion thanked Mr Hunter for his support of the 'Honour the Covenant' campaign. Mr Hunter had asked the Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman MP for a special debate on the subject of the Government's support of troops and their families.

Last week Mr Hunter took the campaign a stage further by questioning the Secretary of State for Defence about other problems facing the troops. Mr Hunter asked what the Government was doing to improve retention and morale of troops which has fallen dramatically because of frequency of tours and over-stretch of troops. Mr Hunter also called for Snatch Land Rovers used to transport soldiers in danger zones to be better protected from attack.

In response to the letter Mr Hunter added: "I was very pleased to be thanked by the Royal British Legion for my support of their campaign. There has never been a more important time to focus on improving the lives of our troops and their families. Troops are fighting on two fronts, Afghanistan and Iraq, and are being stretched too far. They don't have enough equipment and have to go on tours of duty too frequently.

"While the Government's paper is to be welcomed, it's not enough. Our troops deserve better and there is an obvious morale problem, with 59% of troops, according to the Ministry of Defence's own recent survey, stating that operational commitments and stretch have made them more likely to leave the armed forces. That is why I will continue to campaign on this issue - to give our troops the support they need and deserve."