'Britain has failed Falklands veterans'
Veterans of the Falklands War today accused the Government of failing to take care of the country's shellshocked old soldiers.
They also criticised ministers for refusing to stage a proper commemoration of the conflict, on the day after the 20th anniversary of the Argentinian invasion.
Dr Morgan O'Connell, of the charity Combat Stress, said: "America, Canada, France, Australia and Pakistan look after their ex-servicemen." Dr O'Connell, a psychiatrist and Falklands veteran, added: "This country is happy enough to pack them off to war but is unwilling to look after them afterwards. It is appalling."
The commander of land forces during the war, Major General Sir Jeremy Moore, said: "I do not want a squabble as to whether we should act on this anniversary, but the sooner something is done the better."
Dr Rick Jolly, who is organising a return to the Falklands, called Pilgrimage, said that the progressive closure of military hospitals had meant veterans with mental health problems had to rely on the NHS. Men with postconflict emotional disorders would benefit from a return to the Falklands with their comrades, he said.
The Ministry of Defence said it was improving care for veterans. It added that it normally marked the 25th and 50th anniversaries of conflicts and battles.
It was on 2 April, 1982, that Argentinian troops landed to claim the remote British territory as their own. It led to a 72-day war, involving nearly 40,000 men and costing the lives of 655 Argentinian and 236 British servicemen.
In Buenos Aires, Argentinians paid their own respects to their war dead. In emotional scenes, relatives and servicemen gathered at a memorial in the capital.
