Celebrities get more respect than dead soldiers

Celebrities get more respect than dead soldiers, says George Cross holder
Michael Evans, Defence Editor

The Army’s youngest holder of the George Cross has clashed with the Ministry of Defence over the “lack of respect” paid by ministers to servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Lance Corporal of Horse Christopher Finney, 25, who left the Army in July and now works at a call centre for an insurance company, said that he was disillusioned with military life and angry with the Government, claiming more respect was shown to celebrities than to dead soldiers.

“What makes me furious is the demonstrable lack of respect shown by the Government to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice — the war dead. Why is there no minister in attendance when our fallen heroes from Afghanistan are brought home to repatriation ceremonies at Wootton Bassett?” he said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that Gordon Brown had phoned Simon Cowell to ask how Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle was when she had a breakdown. He doesn’t phone any of the bereaved military families,” he said. “I thought it was absolutely disgusting, a real slap in the face for the parents of the hundreds of soldiers killed.”
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6898761.ece