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Scottish Independence – Time to Get the Gloves Off With Westminster

 

Support for Scottish independence surges to record high with almost six in  ten backing split

 

 

Scottish Independence

The Westminster Government’s underhand decision to emasculate the government of Scotland through the establishment of a UK Government in Scotland presents new challenges for Scots whose ambitions for their country extend to a unilateral withdrawal from the 1707 Treaty of Union and full independence and Scottish supporters of the devolved Scottish Government and its limited powers, to be further reduced from January 2021 when Brexit is complete.

 

Record poll puts independence support at 54% – more detailed analysis –  Business for Scotland

 

 

 

The Voting Power of the English Community in Scotland

There are around 450,000 English born people who have chosen to live their lives and raise their families in Scotland whose political and personal ties remain with the Union and in England.

This was evidenced in the 2014 referendum when a very significant majority of the faction voted to remain with the Union, thwarting the will of Scottish born Scots.

Any future independence referendum would be similarly adversely influenced by this generous retention of a full Scottish residency qualification.

 

Poll – Boris Johnson is a key asset for the Scottish independence campaign  – Business for Scotland

 

 

 

Time to Get the Gloves Off

Measures need to be taken to negate the adverse influence of the English voting bloc in Scotland and should include extending the right to vote in Scottish referendums to any person born in Scotland who might be resident anywhere in the United Kingdom.

There are approximately 750,000 Scottish born people living in England, many through economic necessity brought about by anti-Scottish economic policies enacted by successive Westminster Governments.

The Scots in England are a potentially influential lobby group but they are ill-organized to exercise that power. There are lessons to be learned. Scottish politicking in England needs to change if independence is to become a reality and could be facilitated through one of the more prominent Scottish “Yes” groups who should formalize their presence in England through the political registration of the movement.

Nigel Farage motivated the electorate in England and Scotland around a single issue and formed a political party (UKIP). Is there a charismatic Scot ready to take the fight to England? What about Tommy Sheridan?

 

Scottish independence surveys 'show Brexit has put union at risk' |  Politics | The Guardian

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The 2014 Commonwealth Games Were Nobbled by Unionist Civil Servants, Politicians and Labour Party Councillors and There Was No Legacy

 

 

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games

This report formed part of an earlier post which in retrospect was overlong and had lost impact.

In December 2009 “Elite” civil servant Franseca Osowska was promoted to the role of Director for Culture, External Affairs, and Tourism with responsibility for developing Scotlands bid for the Commonwealth Games.

Promoted yet again in January 2013 she was appointed Director of the Commonwealth Games, a role requiring her to coordinate the work of a large team of senior officers, political figures, and civil servants (seconded to Scotland from London).

Through her links with the secretive “Common Purpose” networking organization, she recruited the “33Fifty” group, a team of young right-wing leaders of the future who participated in the policing of the games ensuring any display of the Saltire or singing of the Scottish anthem was snuffed out and guilty parties ejected from venues.

Talk about a police state. The Unionists even nobbled the games in their favour. All under the noses of Scots caught up in the Westminster civil service carefully manufactured hype.

She was rewarded with an OBE and her team of “Elite” civil servants from London were praised and awarded “Civil Service Certificates of Merit” in recognition of the long hours and their hard graft undermining the will of Scots to break free from the Union. And she would later tell the Scottish Affairs Committee that her team of “Elite” civil servants had acted entirely appropriately throughout 2014. A statement later exposed as a lie when the Civil Servants crowed to the English press about their undercover, illegal work in support of “Better Together”

The remit specific to herself was to regenerate the East End of Glasgow and to ensure the delivery of a lasting legacy for Scotland. This she duly did and for which in January 2015, she was awarded an OBE, for services to Government and the Commonwealth Games Committee in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

Her sales pitch to the nation: https://www.surf.scot/scotregen/ensuring-a-lasting-legacy-from-2014-commonwealth-games-2/

 

Physical Fitness in the Community

A major selling point of the Games was the promise of a significant and sustained increase in physical activity within the community as residents flocked to and used the many new sports facilities available to them.

But a study completed four years after the games by “GoWell East” found the number of physically active locals had fallen from 62 percent in 2012 to just over 50 percent.

 Dalmarnock in 2008 sees a playpark and trees

 

Regeneration

Halls and other facilities were demolished as part of the regeneration of the area and replaced with a sparkling new facility named the “Legacy Hub” which cost around £4m to build.

Four years on, plagued by corruption and malfeasance the “Hub” shut its doors. Another Commonwealth Games venture that had failed to deliver the much-vaunted “Games Legacy.”

Large areas of the Dalmarnock community housing estate were razed to the ground because they were considered to be unsightly and residents, in some cases were forcibly removed from their properties under compulsory purchase orders greatly undervaluing the housing.

Many residents were relocated to similar run down pre-war properties outwith Dalmarnock with some finding accommodation after the games in the new housing stock built to house the games athletes.

Four years on Dalmarnock is still an eyesore and as shabby and derelict is as it ever was.

Local residents complain that their community has lost its heart with the closure of just about all of its corner shops and other amenities.

The much-vaunted investment in the future had proved to be a crock of s**t.

A local councillor admitted the promised improvements had not materialized and the community was hopelessly split between residents of “old Dalmarnock” those of the new village (previously the athletes’ accommodation.)

Full story here:
https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/02/fraud-corruption-in-public-office-glasgows-commonwealth-games-legacy/
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14324335.glasgow-labour-councillor-behind-troubled-commonwealth-games-project-put-on-leaveamid-finance-probe/
https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/02/fraud-corruption-in-public-office-glasgows-commonwealth-games-legacy/

 But in 2019 things look no better

 

Improving the Lifestyle of Underprivileged Families

A key legacy of Glasgow 2014 was that thousands of mattresses, beds, wardrobes, chairs, and other furnishings from the athletes’ village was to be distributed to poor and vulnerable families.

The scheme was announced to great fanfare prompting a long list of social housing clients to sign up in the hope of transforming their homes with little-used items.

But the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) charged with administering the scheme had to destroy many thousands of mattresses, wardrobes, bed frames, and chairs after dumping them in damp and filthy warehouses in Renfrew.

A source at the GHA said: “It is a disgrace that this has been allowed to happen. It highlights an almost unbelievable level of mismanagement on the part of the GHA bosses.

This equipment was supposed to be distributed to poor and vulnerable families after the Games, but instead, the vast bulk of it is completely unusable.

There is not a single item that I would have in my house as a result of the damage that has been caused, it is all infested.”

Full story here:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/wasted-legacy-commonwealth-games-furniture-6263683

 

afternote: Francesca Osowska was promoted further and went on to work with David Mundell in a lead role with the UK Government of Scotland during and after the 2014 Independence Referendum. And that’s another story.

 

 

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Francesca Osowska – Elite Civil Servant Seemingly Accountable Only to the Cabinet Secretary in London

 

 

Francesca Osowska – The Early Years

Osowska was raised in Cumbria and privately schooled in her primary years but had to transfer to Wyndam Comprehensive to complete her secondary education.

She was an exemplary student who confounded critics of the local authority education system by achieving grades good enough to take her to Cambridge University where she gained an MA in Economics. A qualification to which she added an MA in European Economics from the College of Europe in Bruges.

In 1993 she joined the civil service as an economist and worked in the Employment Department in Sheffield for a time before taking up similar posts in London, Brussels, and Edinburgh, with the Scottish Office.

In 1998 she transferred her skills to mainstream civil service and joined the Scottish Office Education Department before going on to the Justice Department after which she was promoted Head of the Sports Department.

She took a long sabbatical from the Civil Service to pursue her love of athletics where her performances in the “Triathlon” and similar events were of the “Olympic” standard. A tough lady, she could run like the wind, swim like a fish, and cycle faster than a roadrunner. But injuries took their toll.

 

Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to Alex Salmond

She returned to the Civil Service and was fast-tracked by Westminster to the rank of “Elite” civil servant. This small group of civil servants pledges their allegiance to the Director of the Civil Service, who, reports to the Prime Minister and leads the Cabinet Office in London.

From then on, regardless of deployment, her loyalty was and still is to the “Elite” team and its leader. In 2007 she was installed as PPS to the First Minister, Alex Salmond, retaining the post until late 2009.

 

 

Osowska Takes a Dig at Alex Salmond

On 28 November 2017, only a few weeks after taking up the greatest challenge to her organizational abilities she elected to be interviewed by the Glasgow Herald and opened up with a negative assessment of her time as PPS to Alex Salmond from 2007-2009.

The reporter wrote:

“Francesca Osowska has some pretty big challenges to wrestle with, in her new job as chief executive of Scottish Natural Heritage. Should we reintroduce wolves and lynx to Scotland? Should the controversial culling of wild hares continue? Can we save the capercaillie? But none of the critical questions about Scotland’s iconic species quite compares to her days wrestling with one of the big beasts of politics. The former First Minister Alex Salmond. The subject of Salmond cropped up while Osowska and were talking about her impressive career in government and the civil service. Osowska has been, among other things, an economist at the Scottish Office, Director for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and head of the UK Government in Scotland.

But when asked what the lowest point of her career was, she said it was her time as Principal Private Secretary to Alex Salmond. She then said she would need to be extra careful about what she said next and paused for a bit before saying:

“There were times when I was working as Principal Private Secretary to the former First Minister Alex Salmond which were challenging,” (with a heavy emphasis on the word challenge.) I would find myself at Bute House at midnight in front of my computer thinking oh s**t, how am going to resolve this by 8am? Long hours. Challenging issues.”

There’s no doubt that, after years in the civil service, Osowska is used to working in stressful environments at the highest levels. Indeed, if anything, her new post at Scottish Natural Heritage ramps up the stress even further. Full report here:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/15687702.alex-salmond-and-francesca-osowska-wrestling-with-politics-big-beast/

 

The Commonwealth Games

In December 2009 she was promoted to the role of Director for Culture, External Affairs, and Tourism with responsibility for developing Scotlands bid for the Commonwealth Games.

Her sales pitch: https://www.surf.scot/scotregen/ensuring-a-lasting-legacy-from-2014-commonwealth-games-2/

Her links to the secretive “Common Purpose” networking organization allowed her to create “33Fifty” a group of young right-wing leaders of the future who would later participate in the conduct of the games in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Another promotion came her way in January 2013 when she was appointed to the post of Director for the Commonwealth Games.

In addition to coordinating the work of a large team of senior officers and political figures, with a multitude of skills and agendas she was given a specific remit to regenerate the East End of Glasgow and to ensure the delivery of a lasting legacy for Scotland.

This she duly did and for which in January 2015, she was awarded an OBE, for services to Government and the Commonwealth Games Committee in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

 

 

The Commonwealth Games Legacy 2019

Regeneration and Physical Fitness

A major selling point of the Games was the promise of a significant and sustained increase in physical activity within the community as residents flocked to and used the many new sports facilities available to them.

But a study by “GoWell East” found the number of physically active locals had fallen from 62 percent in 2012 to just over 50 percent four years after the Games finished.

Halls and other facilities were demolished as part of the regeneration of the area and replaced with a sparkling new facility named the “Legacy Hub” which cost around £4m to build.

Four years on from the games, plagued by corruption and malfeasance the “Hub” shut its doors. Another Commonwealth Games venture that had failed to deliver the much-vaunted “Games Legacy.”

Full story here:
https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/02/fraud-corruption-in-public-office-glasgows-commonwealth-games-legacy/
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14324335.glasgow-labour-councillor-behind-troubled-commonwealth-games-project-put-on-leaveamid-finance-probe/
https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/02/fraud-corruption-in-public-office-glasgows-commonwealth-games-legacy/

 Dalmarnock in 2008 sees a playpark and trees

Dalmarnock before the games

 But in 2019 things look no better

 

Same view four years after the games

 

Large areas of the Dalmarnock community housing estate were razed to the ground because they were unsightly and residents, in some cases were forcibly removed from their properties under compulsory purchase orders greatly undervaluing the housing.

Many residents were relocated to similar run down pre-war properties outwith Dalmarnock with some finding accommodation after the games in the new housing stock built to house the games athletes.

Four years on Dalmarnock is still an eyesore and as shabby and derelict is as it ever was. Local residents complain that their community has lost its heart with the closure of just about all of its corner shops and other amenities. The much-vaunted investment in the future had proved to be a crock of s**t.

A local councillor admitted the promised improvements had not materialized and the community was hopelessly split between residents of “old Dalmarnock” those of the new village (previously the athletes’ accommodation.)

 

 

Improving the Lifestyle of Underprivileged Families

A key legacy of Glasgow 2014 was that thousands of mattresses, beds, wardrobes, and chairs from the athletes’ village were to be distributed to poor and vulnerable families. The scheme was announced to great fanfare prompting a long list of social housing clients to sign up in the hope of transforming their homes with little-used items.

But the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) charged with administering the scheme had to destroy many thousands of mattresses, wardrobes, bed frames, and chairs after dumping them in damp and filthy warehouses in Renfrew.

Full story here: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/wasted-legacy-commonwealth-games-furniture-6263683

A source at the GHA said: “It is a disgrace that this has been allowed to happen. It highlights an almost unbelievable level of mismanagement on the part of the GHA bosses. This equipment was supposed to be distributed to poor and vulnerable families after the Games, but instead, the vast bulk of it is completely unusable. There is not a single item that I would have in my house as a result of the damage that has been caused, it is all infested.”

 

Director Of The Office Of The UK Government Of Scotland

Her star continued to shine brightly with yet another promotion, in January 2015, to the post of “Director for the Scotland Office of the UK Government.”

Her new boss, David Mundell was delighted since she would be a catalyst ensuring successful implementation of the Westminster government’s plans to usurp the will of the Scottish people through an invidious extensive programme of change transferring financial and political responsibility away from Holyrood.

The role of the Scottish Office was defined by Mundell to be:

“To ensure the smooth working of the devolution settlement in Scotland. Representing Scottish interests within the UK Government and representing the UK Government in Scotland and ensuring that when it comes to reserved matters (the issues that the UK Government deals with in Scotland), the people of Scotland’s voice is heard at the highest level in UK Government.

Its objectives are:

To strengthen and sustain the union.
To act as a custodian of the devolution settlement.
To be Scotland’s voice in Whitehall.
To represent Scottish interests within Government and support the rest of Government on UK matters.
To champion the UK Government in Scotland
To represent and advocate for the UK Government’s policies and achievements in Scotland.

Alex Salmond and Francesca Osowska: wrestling with politics' big beast |  HeraldScotland

 

 

The Scottish Affairs Committee Interview Mundell and Osowska

The committee took evidence from Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, and senior civil servants at the Scotland Office, as they scrutinized the department’s annual report and accounts.

Pete Wishart: Opened the meeting referring to the misconduct of Mundell’s predecessor and Osowska’s former boss Alistair Carmichael, who was fighting claims arising from the “Frenchgate” affair that he had broken electoral law by lying about his role in a leak from the Scotland Office of the content of a private conversation between Nicola Sturgeon and the French consul, apparently reported by a civil servant to his line manager.

The written record allegedly contained a statement reporting that Nicola Sturgeon had voiced her support for the return of the Tory Party to Government. Nicola Sturgeon immediately dismissed the report.

Asked to comment Mundell, who was Carmichael’s number two at the time said he had no part in the leaking of the memo but declined to confirm or deny he had seen it prior to the leak. He said:

“I am Scotland’s voice in Whitehall and my team’s job is to make sure that Scotland’s voice is heard in decisions that are made in Whitehall in the Government. We are also the voice and ears of the UK Government in Scotland because Scotland has two governments. It’s wholly appropriate that the views of both governments are heard but also that we engage widely in relation to the activities of the UK Government in Scotland.”

Wishart questioned Mundell further, asking:

“Were you aware of the requirement for civil servants to record and submit reports to their manager about conversations between Ministers of the Scottish Government and other persons?

Mundell did not answer directly replying:

“The inquiry report set out that in terms of the actions of the civil servants involved there was no impropriety on their part and I had no part in the leaking of that memo.”

Wishart followed up, asking:

“We know you had nothing to do with the making of the leak and that the inquiry has been conducted and concluded, but did you see the memo?”

Ever evasive, Mundell stonewalled replying testily:

“All the relevant information in relation to the leak is contained in the Cabinet Office report.”

Wishart asked Osowska: “How common is it for “Scotland Office” civil servants to contact overseas governments to ask about private conversations between governments and Scottish Government ministers and to compile reports.

Osowska replied: “It is common practice for my staff to be in touch with the consular corps in Scotland and to keep Whitehall fully informed of conversations between Holyrood ministers and foreign diplomats.

It was later revealed that Mundell had issued an edict curtailing direct dialogue between Scottish Government Ministers and their counterparts in London. The Scottish Office would be copied all correspondence and records of any contacts.

Effectively establishing the Westminster Government of Scotland in Edinburgh, just up the road from Holyrood with himself self-appointed to the role of Scotlands Consular General.

Video Diary, Day Two: Francesca Osowska, Scottish Government, UK -  CSCLeaders (Part One) 2013 on Vimeo

 

Scottish Affairs Committee Meeting – Financial matters – Scotland Office

Francesca Osowska, Director and Principal Accounting Officer for the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate General attended to answer questions pertaining to the financial performance of both bodies.

Osowska: “The whole time equivalent establishment (WTE) for both units is around 100. Very few posts are filled with permanent staff the preference being to operate with the assistance of civil service staff seconded from departments at Westminster.”

Margaret Ferrier: “The 2015-16 budget for the Scotland Office, set in the 2013 spending round, was £5.8 million. But the most recent spending estimate asked the Treasury to approve the allocation of a further £3m for “capability enhancement.” What are these new funds for?”

Osowska: “The total combined outturn for the Office of the Advocate General and the Scotland Office in 2014/15 was £7.7 million. The notional £2m overspend was largely offset by an uplift to the allocation set in the 2010 spending round which had not budgeted for the 2014 Independence Referendum. The increased expenditure can mainly be attributed to the referendum which included an allocation of resources to Ministers and their support staff and commercial contractors who provided information to the Scottish public informing the debate.”

Margaret Ferrier: “These public Ministers, are you meaning UK Ministers?”

Osowska: “Yes.”

Margaret Ferrier: “Not the Scottish Government?”

Osowska: “No.”

Kirsty Blackman: “So the Scotland Office had allocated to it and spent an extra £3 million helping UK Government Ministers with information about the referendum, mainly?”

Osowska: “I do not think it is entirely correct to say it was a single jump of £3 million. In terms of what the money delivered and the outcomes that the Scotland Office delivered, I would refer the Committee to the report which sets out a detailed analysis of the outcomes and the outputs from the five objectives set by the Scotland Office, and certainly part of that work and a focus of that work in 2014-15 was in relation to the run-up and then the after-events—including the Smith Commission—of the referendum.”

Chair: “It would be helpful if you write to the Committee to explain properly what the £3.3 million did account for. What we are hearing is that this might have been finance used for “Better Together” in the referendum campaign, and used by UK Ministers and their staff enabling their participation in the referendum campaign. Would that be roughly a correct characterization of that spending?”

Osowska: I don’t think it would be. What I am saying is that in terms of general administration costs, the spend has been consistently around £7m. In answer to your question, “Was this a way of the Government funding the ‘No’ campaign?”. The finance was used to fund the activities of UK Government civil servants, in line with the civil service code. And I can tell you that all activities undertaken by civil servants in my Department would meet a propriety test, yet I think you would agree that in the run-up to a referendum, obviously when Ministers want to be more visible, when we need to ensure that there is a good flow of public information for example, via the Scotland analysis papers that increase our activity and that is why there was an increase between the 2013-14 out-turn and 2014-15 out-turn.”

The statement was later revealed to be absolute tosh with this revelation from the Cabinet Office in London.

 

The Devolved Countries Unit – Nobbled the Scots

The Westminster Civil Service, “Devolved Countries Unit”, (Dirty Tricks) campaign team won “special” Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Awards.

The three amigos’s who actually run the UK: Sir Jeremy Heywood, Sir Bob Kerslake, and Sir Nicholas McPherson collaborated and plotted against Scotland marshalling the full resource of the civil service attacking the Scottish government and anyone who supported the “Yes” campaign.

In the months after the referendum, they expressed great satisfaction that their “Campaign of fear” had created “fearties” in numbers sufficient to win the day for the Unionist coalition.

An award, in recognition of the team’s outstanding achievement, making a significant difference on an issue of national significance, (the Referendum) was presented by the Cabinet Secretary and civil service head Sir Jeremy Heywood. The proud team commented:

* Paul Doyle: “This award is not just for the Treasury, it’s for all the hard work that was done by all government departments on the Scotland agenda. The reality was in all my experience of the civil service, I have never seen the civil service pull together in the way they did behind supporting the UK government in maintaining the United Kingdom. It was a very special event for all of us.”

* William MacFarlane: Deputy Director at HM Treasury, (Budget and Tax Strategy): “As civil servants, you don’t get involved in politics. But for the first time in my life, suddenly we’re part of a political campaign. We were doing everything from the analysis to the advertising, to the communications. I just felt a massive sense of being part of the operation. This being recognized [at the Civil Service Awards], makes me feel just incredibly proud.”

* Shannon Cochrane: “we’ve learned that it is possible for civil servants to work on things that are inherently political and quite difficult, and you’re very close to the line of what is appropriate, but it’s possible to find your way through and to make a difference.”

* Mario Pisani: Deputy Director at HM Treasury, (Public Policy): “In the Treasury, everyone hates you. We don’t get thanks for anything. This is one occasion where we’ve worked with the rest of Whitehall. We all had something in common, we’re trying to save the Union here, and it was so close. We just kept it by the skin of our teeth. I actually cried when the result came in. After 10 years in the civil service, my proudest moment is tonight and receiving this award. As civil servants, you don’t get involved in politics. But, for the first time in my life, suddenly we’re part of a political campaign. We were doing everything from the analysis to the advertising, to the communications. I just felt a massive sense of being part of the operation. This being recognized [at the Civil Service Awards], makes me feel just incredibly proud.”

Comment: The “Civil Service Code” obliges all civil servants to be strictly apolitical and political campaigning work such as described is expressly forbidden. But the Cabinet Secretary, Heywood instructed civil servants to ignore the long-standing protocol and actively conspire to defeat Scots who wished to be free of Westminster control. What is particularly galling is that Francesca Osowska’s office funded all of it using finance that had been allocated to Scotland. Her statement that all activities completed for the Scotland Office, by Westminster civil servants would pass a propriety test stretches incredulity.

Much More here:

https://caltonjock.com/2016/01/27/scottish-office-works-for-westminster-but-against-scotland/
https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/15/2014-scottish-referendum-state-subversion-denied-scots-their-freedom-next-time-we-will-be-wiser/
https://caltonjock.com/2017/07/24/mundell-and-the-tory-party-actively-aided-by-the-scottish-office-are-the-legal-government-of-scotland-holyrood-politicians-need-to-be-mindful-of-this-or-westminster-will-shut-it-down/
https://caltonjock.com/2016/01/28/i-dont-want-to-appear-evasive-but-francesca-osowska-director-of-the-scottish-office-runs-rings-around-the-scottish-affairs-committee-in-defence-of-her-boss-david-mundell/
https://caltonjock.com/2016/02/24/the-unashamed-unionist-civil-servant-francesca-osowska-a-master-in-the-art-of-obfuscation-denies-scots-their-freedom-from-the-tyranical-westminster-elite-fulfilling-its-political-agenda-at-every-jun/
https://caltonjock.com/2020/08/28/francesca-osowska-a-well-earned-obe-you-be-the-judge/
https://bellacaledonia.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/false-memos-and-french-farce/

Labour still isn’t working for Glasgow and has left a poisoned legacy

 

 

Scottish National Heritage

In October 2017, in a surprise move, Osowska was seconded (for 3 years, maximum 2 terms) to the Scottish National Heritage Department as its Chief Executive replacing the incumbent, Ian Jardine, who was seconded (for 3 years, maximum 2 terms) to a newly created role, with the Scottish Government, as a National Adviser on environment policy with a remit to strengthen its EU-related analysis, engagement, and policy work.

Promoting the change, Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said:

“I am delighted to approve the appointment of Francesca Osowska as chief executive of Scottish Natural Heritage. Francesca’s wealth of experience in leading transformational change and government policy should be a great asset to SNH, and I look forward to working with her. I also wish to pay tribute to Ian Jardine for his leadership of SNH over many years and I am very pleased that our work on future environment policy and regulation will gain from his extensive knowledge and experience, including of the European Union.”

Ian Jardine – Natural Heritage – Qualifications and Experience

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and a Doctorate in Zoology.

Began his public service career in 1984 in the Scottish Office, working successively on urban renewal, housing policy, criminal justice, and industrial policy.

Joined the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland in 1991 as Regional Director and remained in that role with the formation of SNH in 1992.

Appointed Chief Executive of SNH in 2002.

Served on the Council of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland 2005-2008.

President of Eurosite, a network for organizations managing protected areas in Europe, 2007-2010.

Member of ENCA (European Nature Conservation Agencies).

Worked with Europarc and IUCN/WCPA, including as a member of the World Protected Areas Leadership Forum

Francesca Orloska – Natural Heritage Qualifications and Experience

None.

Comment: Giving Osowska  charge of a budget  in excess of £75m and management of a very large number of staff attracted criticism.

Both officers are still in place supporting the view that they will remain in their present posts until 2024.

Indeed it is feasible that one day soon they will be given peerages and a cushy well-renumerated lifestyle in the House of Lords.

 

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Blair and His Cronies Dictated Operational Policy in Afghanistan With Result That British Casualties in Afghanistan Were Four Times Higher Than US Forces- A Heartbreaking Record of Incompetence

 

 

Taliban militants kill police chief in Helmand province of Afghanistan - world news - Hindustan Times

 

 

Afghanistan 

In October 2001, UK forces entered Afghanistan in support of the United States. In a statement to the House of Commons, on 4 October 2001, Blair outlined the UK’s objectives, stating:

“We must bring Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders to justice and eliminate the terrorist threat they pose.  And we must ensure that Afghanistan ceases to harbour and sustain international terrorism. If the Taliban regime will not comply with that objective, we must bring about change in that regime to ensure that Afghanistan’s links to international terrorism are broken.

We will do what we can to minimize the suffering of the Afghan people as a result of the conflict; and we commit ourselves to work with them afterwards inside and outside Afghanistan to ensure a better, more peaceful future, free from the repression and dictatorship that is their present existence. The Afghan people are not our enemy, for they have our sympathy and they will have our support.

Our enemy is Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network, who were responsible for the events of 11 September. The Taliban regime must yield them up or become our enemy also. We will not act for revenge. We will act because we need to for the protection of our people and our way of life, including confidence in our economy.

The threat posed by bin Laden and his terrorism must be eliminated. We act for justice. We act with world opinion behind us and we have an absolute determination to see justice done and this evil of mass international terrorism confronted and defeated.

 

Tony Blair: military intervention in rogue regimes 'more necessary than ever' | Tony Blair | The Guardian

 

 

 

Helmand

In May 2006, their was a sharp increase in the number of attacks on Afghan forces and the US decided to expand its operations throughout Afghanistan.

In the year that followed American casualties escalated and Blair committed an increased number of UK forces to assist them in the troubled Helmand province.

By the midsummer of 2007,  British personnel in Afghanistan had been doubled to approximately 7000.

In a statement on 26 January 2006, the then Secretary of State for Defence, John Reid, told Parliament:

“The UK will work to ensure that we provide Afghanistan with a seamless package of democratic, political, developmental and military assistance. In fact, all of that is necessary to ensure that international terrorism never again has a base in Afghanistan.”

In March 2006, on a flying visit to Afghanistan, in an interview he said:

“If we are here for three years and accomplish our mission without firing a shot, we will be very happy indeed”

 

John 'without a shot being fired' Reid's £50,000 Iraq security job | Daily Mail Online

 

 

About Helmand 

Afghanistan is the world’s chief exporter of opium and narcotics production is the controlling factor of the Helmand economy. The trade is protected by well organized armed “gangs” controlled and financed by a number of mafia inspired-like organisations who did not tolerate any interference in their operations. The “druglords” who were not the “Taliban” had the money and the means to defend their assets.

Not long after arriving in Helmand in 2006, British forces were tasked to support a major anti-narcotics programme facilitating the Afghan Government’s control of the province. This brought about an early confrontation with the narcotics druglords who protected their vested interests with the support of corrupt officials, police officers and translators. It also alienated and inspired the resistance of many local tribesmen who had long suffered hardship imposed on them by the very officials the British forces were providing back-up for. The terminology is “shooting oneself in the foot.”

The Taliban had observed that Western forces were bogged down in Iraq and troop numbers had not increased in Afghanistan in more than three years. They used the vacumn to launch a campaign of terror in Helmand through the intimidation and kidnapping and murder of local leaders and their families. Their programmes of disruption also extended to the destruction of schools and building projects put in place by local government.

The Taliban also recruited thousands of volunteers, many from Pakistani Madrassahs (schools of radical Islamic teaching)

 

Taliban says it is resuming offensive operations against Afghan forces - Business Insider

 

 

Operational Deployment of British Forces Decided by Blair –  Casualty Rates Escalate

The  Governor of Helmand insisted that British forces protect towns throughout the province. Refusing his request the British forces commander told him he did not have the personnel numbers needed to support the strategy but following high level political meetings he was ordered from Westminster to accede to the wishes of the Governor. The demands of their political masters would have serious repercussions on the soldiers on the ground.

His forces were split into units numbering between 40-100 and deployed to defend the towns of Sangin, Musa Qala, Nawzad and Garmsir and other places from small poorly built fortified bases.

The deployment played right into the hands of the Taliban who surrounded and relentlessly attacked the bases for days on end inflicting significant casualties on the British defenders without much loss to themselves.

Another aspect of the fight on many fronts was the presence in the Taliban of a large number of Madrassah supported Pakistanis.

The Madrassah’s were also heavily involved in the education, training and deployment to the UK of radicalized sleepers, individuals who would become terrorists in the UK.

Blair ordered the adoption of a “velvet glove” policy on Madrassahs so that British secret services could work with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) ensuring the protection of the British homeland.

His policy did not endear him to military commanders in Afghanistan who were acutely aware that the (ISI) played both sides and were not trusted allies in the fight against the Taliban.

 

British troops in Afghanistan: the heavy toll of Helmand casualties | World news | The Guardian

 

Summary:

Blair and those that followed him in office ensured the British public did not have an informed understanding of the objectives of their armed forces deployment to Afghanistan. Many thought the fighting was all about the control of poppy production, while others thought it was about the War on Terror, (which the Taliban had no part in). Those that were politically briefed knew it was all about the US and Britain imposing democracy and governance of on a troubled nation.

 

Afghan casualty rate 'at level of last war'

 

 

 

Casualties of the War in Afghanistan

453 British soldiers died in Afghanistan – four times the rate of US troops, a statistical disparity which nobody at Westminster has yet explained

The maximum acceptable level of major combat casualties is 6 deaths per 1000. UK forces suffered 13 deaths per 1000. (The average age of those who died was 22. 31 were teenagers, 200 in their 20s). USA forces suffered 3 deaths per 1000.

3560 soldiers were wounded in action. 29 British soldiers had limbs amputated in 2012-2013. 12 were classified as “significant multiple amputees”.

Of the army veterans who made it home more or less in one piece, suicide was the most common cause of death in 2012.

 

The Taliban in Afghanistan

 

Eyes Shut and Fingers Crossed

Major General Mackay, Greatly respected, Force Commander in Helmand, (in an interview in the Times), not long after he left the Army said;

“Labour’s “complacent” approach to the Afghan mission had proved “very costly”. The genesis of their approach is born of complacency, the thought that, ‘we can deal with it as and when it happens”. It resulted, I believe, in the upper echelons of the Labour government going into Helmand with their eyes shut and their fingers crossed.

“For those who fought and died or suffered injuries in that period, this proved a very costly means of conducting counter-insurgency. The issue is whether or not our politicians, diplomats, intelligence services, civil servants and senior military have done enough, adapted enough, been innovative enough or courageous enough to make tough, and more often than not, unpalatable choices.”

“My answer to that question is that they have not or have failed to do so too often. Muddling through seemed to be the default setting, along with the protection of individual and collective interests”.

 

Paul Flynn MP – Defender of Scotland – The Best MP in Westminster

 

House of Commons – Early Day Motion Submitted by Welsh Labour MP Paul Flynn

That this House records its sorrow at the deaths of 453 British soldiers in Afghanistan and notes the post-conflict judgments by Brigadier Ed Butler that the UK was under-prepared and under-resourced, by General Sir Peter Wall that the calculus was wrong, by former ambassador Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles that the UK operation was a massive act of collective self-deception by military and politicians unable to admit how badly it was going, and by General Lord Dannatt that the UK knew it was heading for two considerable size operations and really only had the organisation and manpower for one; and calls for an early inquiry into the conduct of the war in order to avoid future blunders.

What a shame they could bear to tell the truth earlier when many lives could have been saved.

http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/

Commando medics ready for contingency operations - GOV.UK

 

 

453 UK soldiers died in Afghanistan following the decision by the Westminster Unionists to invade Helmand in 2006.

Captain Thomas Clarke, aged 30, from Cardiff, Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan, aged 29, from Birmingham, Warrant Officer Class 2 Spencer Faulkner, aged 38, Corporal James Walters, aged 36, from Cornwall, Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas, aged 26, from Brecon, Sapper Adam Moralee, aged 23, from Newcastle, Captain Richard Holloway, aged 29, from Durham, Warrant Officer Class 2 Ian Fisher, aged 42, from Essex, Lance Corporal James Brynin, The Intelligence Corps, aged 22, from Shoreham-by-Sea, Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson, aged 38, from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, Flight Lieutenant Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore, aged 28, from Bournemouth, Flight Lieutenant Gareth Rodney Nicholas, aged 40, from Newquay, Cornwall, Flight Lieutenant Allan James Squires, aged 39, from Clatterbridge, Flight Lieutenant Steven Swarbrick, aged 28, from Liverpool, Flight Sergeant Gary Wayne Andrews, aged 48, from Tankerton, Kent, Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie, aged 42, from Dundee, Flight Sergeant Gerard Martin Bell, aged 48, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, Flight Sergeant Adrian Davies, aged 49, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Sergeant Benjamin James Knight, aged 25, from Bridgwater, Sergeant John Joseph Langton, aged 29, from Liverpool, Sergeant Gary Paul Quilliam, aged 42, from Manchester, Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts, The Parachute Regiment, aged 27, Marine Joseph David Windall, Royal Marines, aged 22, Corporal William Thomas Savage, aged 30, from Irvine, Fusilier Samuel Flint, aged 21, from Blackpool, Private Robert Murray Hetherington, from the United States of America, Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 24, from Wythenshawe, Kingsman David Robert Shaw, 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 23, from Barrow-in-Furness, Sapper Richard Reginald Walker, 28 Engineer Regiment, aged 23, from Leeds, Captain Walter Barrie, 1 Scots, aged 41, from Glasgow, Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 29, from County Durham, Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 28, from Pokhara, Nepal, Corporal David O’Connor, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 27, from Havant, Hampshire, Corporal Channing Day, 3 Medical Regiment, aged 25, from Newtownards, County Down, Captain Carl Manley, Royal Marines, aged 41, Captain James Anthony Townley, Corps of Royal Engineers, aged 29, from Tunbridge Wells, Sergeant Jonathan Eric Kups, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 38, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Sergeant Gareth Thursby, 3 Yorks, aged 29, from Skipton, Private Thomas Wroe, 3 Yorks, aged 18, from Huddersfield, Lance Corporal Duane Groom, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 32, from Suva City, Fiji, Sergeant Lee Paul Davidson, The Light Dragoons, aged 32, from Doncaster, and Guardsman Karl Whittle, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 22, from Bristol.Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley, The Queen’s Royal Hussars, aged 26, from Bolton, Sergeant Luke Taylor, The Royal Marines, aged 33, from Bournemouth, Lance Corporal Michael Foley, Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support), aged 25, from Burnley, Lancashire, Captain Rupert William Michael Bowers, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 24, from Wolverhampton, Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 33, from Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, Corporal Jake Hartley, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 20, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Private Anthony Frampton, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 20, from Huddersfield, Private Christopher Kershaw, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 19, from Bradford, Private Daniel Wade, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 20, from Warrington, Private Daniel Wilford, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 21, from Huddersfield, Senior Aircraftman Ryan Tomlin, 2 Squadron RAF Regiment, aged 21, from Hemel Hempstead, Lance Corporal Gajbahadur Gurung, Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 26, from Majthana, Nepal, Signaller Ian Gerard Sartorius-Jones, 20th Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadran (200), aged 21, from Runcorn, Cheshire, Rifleman Sachin Limbu, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 23, from Rajghat, Morang, Nepal, Private John King, 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 19, from Darlington, Squadron Leader Anthony Downing, Royal Air Force, aged 34, from Kent and Captain Tom Jennings, Royal Marines, aged 29. Guardsman Jamie Shadrake, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 20, from Wrexham, Wales, Lance Corporal Matthew David Smith, Corps of Royal Engineers, aged 26, from Aldershot, Lieutenant Andrew Robert Chesterman, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 26, from Guildford, Warrant Officer Class 2 Leonard Perran Thomas, Royal Corps of Signals, aged 44, from Ross-on-Wye, Guardsman Craig Andrew Roderick, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 22, from Cardiff, Guardsman Apete Saunikalou Ratumaiyale Tuisovurua, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 28, from Fiji, Corporal Alex Guy, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 37, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, Lance Corporal James Ashworth, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 23, from Kettering, Private Gregg Thomas Stone, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 20, from Yorkshire, Corporal Michael John Thacker, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 27, from Swindon, Wiltshire, Captain Stephen James Healey, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 29, from Cardiff, Corporal Brent John McCarthy, Royal Air Force, aged 25, from Priorslee, Telford, Lance Corporal Lee Thomas Davies, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 27, from Carmarthen, Corporal Andrew Steven Roberts, 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, aged 32, from Middlesbrough, Private Ratu Manasa Silibaravi, 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, aged 32, from Fiji, Guardsman Michael Roland, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 22, from Worthing and Sapper Connor Ray, 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), aged 21, from Newport. Sapper Elijah Bond, 35 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers, aged 24, from St Austell, Rifleman Sheldon Lee Jordan Steel, 5th Battalion The Rifles, aged 20, from Leeds, Private Thomas Christopher Lake, 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, aged 29, from Watford, Lieutenant David Boyce, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, aged 25, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Lance Corporal Richard Scanlon, 1st The Queen’s Dragoons Guards, aged 31, from Rhymney, Gwent, Lance Corporal Peter Eustace, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 25, from Liverpool, Private Matthew Thornton, 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 28, from Barnsley, Private Matthew James Sean Haseldin, 2nd Battalion The Mercia Regiment, aged 21, from Settle, Yorkshire, Rifleman Vijay Rai, 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 21, from the Bhojpur District, Deaurali East of Nepal, Marine David Fairbrother, Kilo Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 24, from Blackburn, Lance Corporal Jonathan James McKinley, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 33, from Darlington, County Durham, Sergeant Barry John Weston, Kilo Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 40, from Reading, Lieutenant Daniel John Clack, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 24, from North London, Marine James Robert Wright, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 22, from Weymouth and Corporal Mark Anthony Palin, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 32, from Plymouth. Lance Corporal Paul Watkins, 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s), aged 24, from Port Elizabeth, Republic of South Africa, Highlander Scott McLaren, The Highlanders 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 20, from Edinburgh, Private Gareth Leslie William Bellingham, 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Stafford), aged 22, from Stoke-on-Trent, Corporal Lloyd Newell, The Parachute Regiment, Craftsman Andrew Found, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 27, from Whitby, Rifleman Martin Jon Lamb, 1st Battalion the Rifles, aged 27, from Gloucester, Lance Corporal Martin Joseph Gill, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 22, from Nottingham, Corporal Michael John Pike, The Highlanders 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 26, from Huntly, Scotland, Lieutenant Oliver Richard Augustin, Juliet Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Kent, Marine Samuel Giles William Alexander MC, Juliet Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 28, from London, Colour Sergeant Kevin Charles Fortuna, A Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 36, from Cheltenham, Marine Nigel Dean Mead, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 19, from Carmarthen, Captain Lisa Jade Head, 11 EOD Regiment RLC, aged 29, from Huddersfield, Colour Sergeant Alan Cameron, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, aged 42, from Livingston, Scotland, Major Matthew James Collins, 1st Battalion Irish Guards, aged 38, from Backwell, Somerset, Lance Sergeant Mark Terence Burgan, 1st Battalion Irish Guards, aged 28, from Liverpool, Private Daniel Steven Prior, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 27, from Peacehaven, East Sussex, Lance Corporal McKee, 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, aged 27, from Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, Lance Corporal Liam Richard Tasker, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, aged 26, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, Private Robert Wood, 17 Port and Maritime Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, aged 28, from Hampshire, Private Dean Hutchinson, 9 Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps, aged 23, from Wiltshire, Lance Corporal Kyle Cleet Marshall, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 23, from Newcastle, Private Lewis Hendry, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 20, from Norwich, Private Conrad Lewis, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 22, from Bournemouth, Warrant Officer Class 2 (Company Sergeant Major) Colin Beckett, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 36, from Peterborough, Ranger David Dalzell, 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, aged 20, from Bangor County Down, Private Martin Simon George Bell, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 24, from Bradford, Private Joseva Saqanagonedau Vatubua, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 24, from Suva, Fiji, Warrant Officer Class 2 Charles Henry Wood, 23 Pioneer Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, serving with the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, aged 34, from Middlesbrough, and Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn, 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron, attached to 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment Battlegroup, aged 27, from Gateshead. Private John Howard, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 23, from Wellington, New Zealand, Guardsman Christopher Davies, 1st Battalion Irish Guards, aged 22, from St Helens, Merseyside, Ranger Aaron McCormick, 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, aged 22, from Coleraine in County Londonderry, Senior Aircraftsman Scott ‘Scotty’ Hughes, 1 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment, aged 20, from North Wales, Sapper William Bernard Blanchard, 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), aged 39, from Gosport, Hampshire, Corporal David Barnsdale, 33 Engineer Regiment, aged 24, from Tring, Sergeant Peter Anthony Rayner, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 34, from Bradford, Rifleman Suraj Gurung, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 22, from Gorkha in Nepal, Corporal Matthew Thomas, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Sergeant Andrew James Jones, Royal Engineers, aged 35, from Newport, South Wales, Trooper Andrew Martin Howarth, The Queen’s Royal Lancers, aged 20, from Bournemouth, Kingsman Darren Deady, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 22, from Bolton, Captain Andrew Griffiths, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 25, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, Lance Corporal Joseph McFarlane Pool, The Royal Scots Borderers 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 26, from Greenock, Lance Corporal Jordan Dean Bancroft, 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 25, from Burnley, Sapper Ishwor Gurung, 69 Gurkha Field Squadron, 21 Engineer Regiment, aged 21, from Pokhara, Nepal, Sapper Darren Foster, 21 Engineer Regiment, aged 20, from Carlisle, Rifleman Remand Kulung, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), aged 27, from Nepal, Lietuenant John Charles Sanderson, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), aged 29, from Oklahoma, USA, Marine Adam Brown, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 26, from Burtle, near Glastonbury, Lance Sergeant Dale Alanzo McCallum, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, aged 31, from Hanover, Jamaica, Sapper Mark Antony Smith, 36 Engineer Regiment, aged 26, from Swanley, Kent, Corporal Matthew James Stenton, The Royal Dragoon Guards, aged 23, from Wakefield, Lance Corporal Stephen Daniel Monkhouse, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, aged 28, from Greenock, Staff Sergeant Brett George Linley, The Royal Logistic Corps, aged 29, from Birmingham, Sergeant David Thomas Monkhouse, The Royal Dragoon Guards, aged 35, from Aspatria, Cumbria, Senior Aircraftman Kinikki ‘Griff’ Griffiths, aged 20, Marine Jonathan David Thomas Crookes, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 26, from Birmingham, Marine Matthew Harrison, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Hemel Hempstead, Major James Joshua Bowman, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 34, from Salisbury, Lieutenant Neal Turkington, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 26, from Craigavon, and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 33, from Khibang village Magdi District, Nepal. Marine David Charles Hart, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Upper Poppleton, North Yorkshire, Bombardier Samuel Joseph Robinson, 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 31, from Carmarthen, Private Thomas Sephton, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 20, from Warrington, Trooper James Anthony Leverett, Royal Dragoon Guards, aged 20, from Sheffield, Corporal Seth Stephens, Royal Marines, Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick, 101 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), aged 32, from Llanelli, Bombardier Stephen Raymond Gilbert, 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 36, from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 34, from Runcorn, Lance Corporal David Ramsden, 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 26, from Leeds, Private Douglas Halliday, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 20, from Wallasey, Merseyside, Private Alex Isaac, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 20, from the Wirral, Sergeant Steven William Darbyshire, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 35, from Wigan, Lance Corporal Michael Taylor, Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 30, from Rhyl, Marine Paul Warren, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Leyland, Lancashire, Marine Richard Hollington, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Petersfield, Trooper Ashley Smith, Royal Dragoon Guards, aged 21, from York, Corporal Taniela Tolevu Rogoiruwai, aged 32, from Nausori, Fiji, Kingsman Pomipate Tagitaginimoce, aged 29, from Nausori, Fiji, and Marine Steven James Birdsall, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 20, from Warrington. Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze, B (Malta) Company, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), aged 31, from Manchester, Private Jonathan Monk, 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, aged 25, from London, Lance Bombardier Mark Chandler, 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, aged 32, from Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, Corporal Terry Webster, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), aged 24, from Chester, Lance Corporal Alan Cochran, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), aged 23, from St Asaph, North Wales, Marine Anthony Dean Hotine, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 21, from Warminster, Marine Scott Gregory Taylor, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 20, from Buxton, Corporal Stephen Curley, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 26, from Exeter, Gunner Zak Cusack, 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 20, from Stoke-on-Trent, Corporal Stephen Walker, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 42, from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Corporal Christopher Lewis Harrison, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 26, from Watford, Sapper Daryn Roy, 21 Engineer Regiment, aged 28, from Consett, County Durham, Lance Corporal Barry Buxton, 21 Engineer Regiment, aged 27, from Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, Corporal Harvey Holmes, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 22, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, Fusilier Jonathan Burgess, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 20, from Townhill, Swansea, Rifleman Mark Turner, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 21, from Gateshead, Guardsman Michael Sweeney, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, aged 19, from Blyth in Northumberland, Rifleman Daniel Holkham, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Chatham, Kent, Lance Corporal of Horse Jonathan Woodgate, Household Cavalry Regiment, aged 26, from Lavenham, Suffolk, Sergeant Steven Campbell, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 30, from Durham, Lance Corporal Scott Hardy, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 26, from Chelmsford, Private James Grigg, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 20, from Hartismere, Suffolk, Captain Martin Driver, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 31, from Barnsley, Corporal Stephen Thompson, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 31, from Bovey Tracey, Devon, Lance Corporal Tom Keogh, 4th Battalion The Rifles, aged 24, from Paddington, London, Rifleman Liam Maughan, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 18, from Doncaster, Rifleman Jonathan Allott, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from North Shields, Corporal Richard Green, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 23, from Reading, Rifleman Carlo Apolis, 4th Battalion The Rifles, aged 28, from South Africa, Sergeant Paul Fox, 28 Engineer Regiment, aged 34, from St Ives, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, 4th Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Dagenham, Senior Aircraftman Luke Southgate, II Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment, aged 20, from Bury St Edmunds, Lance Sergeant David ‘Davey’ Walker, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, aged 36, from Glasgow, Lieutenant Douglas Dalzell, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards from Berkshire and Sapper Guy Mellors, 36 Engineer Regiment, aged 20, from Coventry. Kingsman Sean Dawson, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 19, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, Rifleman Mark Marshall, 6th Battalion The Rifles, aged 29, from Exeter, Lance Sergeant Dave Greenhalgh, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 25, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, Lance Corporal Darren Hicks, from Mousehole, Cornwall, Warrant Officer Class 2 David Markland, 36 Engineer Regiment, aged 36, from Euxton, Lancashire, Corporal John Moore, The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 22, from Lanarkshire, Private Sean McDonald, The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 26, from Edinburgh, Corporal Liam Riley, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 21, from Sheffield, Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 27, from Huddersfield, Lance Corporal Daniel Cooper, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 22, from Hereford, Rifleman Peter Aldridge, 4th Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, Corporal Lee Brownson, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 30, from Bishop Auckland, Rifleman Luke Farmer, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Pontefract, Captain Daniel Reed, 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps, aged 32, from Rainham, Kent, Private Robert Hayes, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 19, from Cambridge, Sapper David Watson, 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), aged 23, Rifleman Aidan Howell, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Sidcup, Kent, Lance Corporal Tommy Brown, The Parachute Regiment, Lance Corporal Christopher Roney, A Company, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 23, from Sunderland, Lance Corporal Michael David Pritchard, 4th Regiment, Royal Military Police, aged 22, from Maidstone, Corporal Simon Hornby, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 29, from Liverpool, Lance Corporal David Leslie Kirkness, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 24, from West Yorkshire, Rifleman James Stephen Brown, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 18, from Kent, Lance Corporal Adam Drane, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 23, from Bury St Edmunds, Acting Sergeant John Paxton Amer, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, from Sunderland, Sergeant Robert David Loughran-Dickson, 4th Regiment Royal Military Police, aged 33, from Deal, Kent, Corporal Loren Owen Christopher Marlton-Thomas, 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), aged 28, Rifleman Andrew Ian Fentiman, 7th Battalion The Rifles, aged 23, from Cambridge, Rifleman Samuel John Bassett, 4th Battalion The Rifles, aged 20, from Plymouth, Rifleman Philip Allen, 2 Rifles, aged 20, from Dorset, Sergeant Phillip Scott, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, aged 30, from Malton, Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, aged 40, from Walthamstow, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, aged 37, from Grimsby, Guardsman James Major, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, aged 18, from Grimsby, and Corporal Steven Boote, Royal Military Police, aged 22, from Birkenhead, Liverpool. Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, Royal Military Police, aged 24, from Glangwili, Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid, Royal Logistic Corps, aged 30, from Truro, Corporal Thomas ‘Tam’ Mason, the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 27, from Rosyth, Corporal James Oakland, Royal Military Police, aged 26, from Manchester, Lance Corporal James Hill, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, aged 23, from Redhill, Surrey, Guardsman James Janes, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 20, from Brighton, Acting Corporal Marcin Wojtak, 34 Squadron RAF regiment, aged 24, from Leicester, Private James Prosser, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 21, from Cwmbran, Acting Sergeant Michael Lockett MC, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, from Monifieth in Angus, Acting Sergeant Stuart McGrath, 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, aged 28, from Buckinghamshire, Trooper Brett Hall, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, aged 21, from Dartmouth, Kingsman Jason Dunn-Bridgeman, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, aged 20, from Liverpool, Corporal John Harrison, The Parachute Regiment, Private Gavin Elliott, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 19, from Woodsetts, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Lance Corporal Richard Brandon, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 24, from Kidderminster, Sergeant Stuart ‘Gus’ Millar, The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 40, from Inverness, Private Kevin Elliott, The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 24, from Dundee, Sergeant Lee Andrew Houltram, Royal Marines. Fusilier Shaun Bush, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, aged 24, from Warwickshire, Sergeant Paul McAleese, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 29, from Hereford, Private Jonathon Young, 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington’s), aged 18, from Hull, Lance Corporal James Fullarton, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, aged 24, from Coventry, Fusilier Simon Annis, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, from Salford, Fusilier Louis Carter, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, from Nuneaton, Sergeant Simon Valentine, aged 29, from Bedworth, Private Richard Hunt, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 21, from Abergavenny, Captain Mark Hale, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 42, from Bournemouth, Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, 40th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Lowland Gunners), aged 23, from Easingwold, North Yorkshire, Rifleman Daniel Wild, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Hartlepool, Private Jason George Williams, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 23, from Worcester, Corporal Kevin Mulligan, The Parachute Regiment, aged 26, Lance Corporal Dale Thomas Hopkins, The Parachute Regiment, aged 23, Private Kyle Adams, The Parachute Regiment, aged 21, Craftsman Anthony Lombardi, aged 21, from Scunthorpe, Trooper Phillip Lawrence, Light Dragoons, aged 22, from Birkenhead, Warrant Officer Class 2 Sean Upton, 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 35, from Nottinghamshire and Bombardier Craig Hopson, 40th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Lowland Gunners), aged 24, from Castleford. Guardsman Christopher King, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, aged 20, from Birkenhead, Liverpool, Captain Daniel Shepherd, 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, aged 28, from Lincoln, Corporal Joseph Etchells, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, aged 22, from Mossley, Rifleman Aminiasi Toge, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 26, from Suva, Fiji, Corporal Jonathan Horne, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 28, from Walsall, Rifleman William Aldridge, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 18, from Bromyard, Herefordshire, Rifleman James Backhouse, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 18, from Castleford, Yorkshire, Rifleman Joe Murphy, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 18, from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, Rifleman Daniel Simpson, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 20, from Croydon, Corporal Lee Scott, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, aged 26, from King’s Lynn, Private John Brackpool, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 27, from Crawley, West Sussex, Rifleman Daniel Hume, 4th Battalion The Rifles, Trooper Christopher Whiteside, The Light Dragoons, aged 20, from Blackpool, Captain Ben Babington-Browne, 22 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, aged 27, from Maidstone, Lance Corporal Dane Elson, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 22, from Bridgend, Lance Corporal David Dennis, The Light Dragoons, aged 29, from Llanelli, Wales, Private Robert Laws, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 18, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and Trooper Joshua Hammond, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, aged 18. Major Sean Birchall, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 33, Lieutenant Paul Mervis, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 27, from London, Private Robert McLaren, The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 20, from the Isle of Mull, Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, aged 19, from Reading, Lance Corporal Nigel Moffett, The Light Dragoons, aged 28, from Belfast, Corporal Stephen Bolger, The Parachute Regiment, Lance Corporal Kieron Hill, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), aged 20, from Nottingham, Lance Corporal Robert Martin Richards, Armoured Support Group Royal Marines, aged 24, from Betws-y-Coed, North Wales, Sapper Jordan Rossi, 25 Field Squadron, 38 Engineer Regiment, aged 22, from West Yorkshire, Fusilier Petero ‘Pat’ Suesue, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, aged 28, from Fiji, Marine Jason Mackie, Armoured Support Group Royal Marines, aged 21, from Bampton, Oxfordshire, Lieutenant Mark Evison, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 26, Sergeant Ben Ross, 173 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment Royal Military Police, Corporal Kumar Pun, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, Rifleman Adrian Sheldon, 2 Rifles, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Corporal Sean Binnie, 3 Scots, aged 22, Lance Sergeant Tobie Fasfous, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, aged 29, Corporal Dean Thomas John, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 25, from Neath, and Corporal Graeme Stiff, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 24, from Munster, Germany. Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, aged 22, from Swansea, Marine Michael ‘Mick’ Laski, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 21, from Liverpool, Corporal Tom Gaden, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 24, from Taunton, Lance Corporal Paul Upton, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 31, Rifleman Jamie Gunn, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 21, from Leamington Spa, Lance Corporal Stephen ‘Schnoz’ Kingscott, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 22, from Plymouth, Marine Darren ‘Daz’ Smith, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 27, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, Corporal Daniel ‘Danny’ Nield, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 31, from Cheltenham, Acting Corporal Richard ‘Robbo’ Robinson, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 21, from Cornwall, Captain Tom Sawyer, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 26, from Hertfordshire, Corporal Danny Winter, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 28, from Stockport, Marine Travis Mackin, Communications Squadron United Kingdom Landing Force Command Support Group, aged 22, from Plymouth, Sergeant Chris Reed, 6th Battalion The Rifles, aged 25, from Plymouth, Corporal Liam Elms, RM, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 26, from Wigan, Lance Corporal Benjamin Whatley, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 20, from King’s Lynn, Corporal Robert Deering, Commando Logistic Regiment Royal Marines, aged 33, from Solihull, Rifleman Stuart Nash, 1st Battalion The Rifles, aged 21, from Sydney, Australia, and Lieutenant Aaron Lewis, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 26, from Essex. Lance Corporal Steven ‘Jamie’ Fellows, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 28, from Sheffield, Marine Damian Davies, aged 27, Sergeant John Manuel, aged 38, from North East England, Corporal Mark Birch, aged 26, from Northampton, Marine Tony Evans, aged 20, from Sunderland, Marine Georgie Sparks, aged 19, from Epping, Marine Alexander Lucas, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 24, from Edinburgh, Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura, 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 36, from the Lamjung District of Western Nepal, Marine Neil David Dunstan, aged 32, from Bournemouth, Marine Robert Jospeh McKibben, aged 32, from County Mayo, Rifleman Yubraj Rai, 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 28, from Khotang District, Eastern Nepal, Trooper James Munday, aged 21, from the Birmingham area, Lance Corporal Nicky Matson, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 26, from Aveley in Essex, Private Jason Lee Rawstron, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 23, from Lancashire, Warrant Officer Class 2 Gary ‘Gaz’ O’Donnell GM, 1 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, aged 40, from Edinburgh, Ranger Justin James Cupples, 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, aged 29, from County Cavan, Ireland, Corporal Barry Dempsey, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 29, from Ayrshire, Signaller Wayne Bland, 16 Signal Regiment, aged 21, from Leeds, Private Peter Joe Cowton, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 25, from Basingstoke, Sergeant Jonathan Mathews, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 35, from Edinburgh, Lance Corporal Kenneth Michael Rowe, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, aged 24, from Newcastle, Corporal Jason Stuart Barnes, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 25, from Exeter, Lance Corporal James Johnson, B Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 31, from Scotland, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Dan Shirley, Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps, aged 32, from Leicester, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Michael Norman Williams, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 40, from Cardiff, Private Joe John Whittaker, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 20, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Corporal Sarah Bryant, Intelligence Corps, aged 26, from Liverpool, Corporal Sean Robert Reeve, Royal Signals, aged 28, Lance Corporal Richard Larkin, aged 39, Paul Stout, aged 31, Lance Corporal James Bateman, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 29, from Staines, Middlesex, Private Jeff Doherty, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 20, from Southam, Warwickshire, Private Nathan Cuthbertson, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 19, from Sunderland, Private Daniel Gamble, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 22, from Uckfield, East Sussex, Private Charles David Murray, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 19, from Carlisle, and Marine Dale Gostick, 3 Troop Armoured Support Company, Royal Marines, aged 22, from Oxford. Drummer Thomas Wright, 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Forresters, aged 21, from Ripley, Derbyshire, Guardsman Neil ‘Tony’ Downes, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 20, from Manchester, Lance Corporal Paul ‘Sandy’ Sandford, 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, aged 23, from Nottingham, Corporal Mike Gilyeat, Royal Military Police, aged 28, Corporal Darren Bonner, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 31, from Norfolk, Guardsman Daniel Probyn, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 22, from Tipton, Lance Corporal George Russell Davey, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 23, from Suffolk, Guardsman Simon Davison, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 22, from Newcastle upon Tyne, Private Chris Gray, A Company 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 19, from Leicestershire, Warrant Officer Class 2 Michael ‘Mick’ Smith, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 39, from Liverpool, Marine Benjamin Reddy, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 22, from Ascot, Berkshire, Lance Bombardier Ross Clark, aged 25, from South Africa, Lance Bombardier Liam McLaughlin, aged 21, from Lancashire, Marine Scott Summers, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Crawley, East Sussex, Marine Jonathan Holland, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Chorley, Lancashire, Lance Corporal Mathew Ford, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 30, from Immingham, Lincolnshire, Marine Thomas Curry 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 21, from East London and Lance Bombardier James Dwyer, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 22. James Thompson, Trooper Ratu Sakeasi Babakobau, Household Cavalry Regiment, aged 29, from Fiji, Trooper Robert Pearson, The Queen’s Royal Lancers Regiment, aged 22, from Grimsby, Senior Aircraftman Graham Livingstone, Royal Air Force Regiment, aged 23, from Glasgow, Senior Aircraftman Gary Thompson, Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment, aged 51, from Nottingham, Lieutenant John Thornton, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 22, from Ferndown, Marine David Marsh, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Sheffield, Corporal Damian Mulvihill, 40 Commando Royal Marines, aged 32, from Plymouth, Corporal Damian Stephen Lawrence, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), aged 25, from Whitby, Corporal Darryl Gardiner, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, aged 25, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, Sergeant Lee Johnson, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, aged 33, from Stockton-on-Tees, Trooper Jack Sadler, The Honourable Artillery Company, aged 21, from Exeter, Captain John McDermid, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 43, from Glasgow, Lance Corporal Jake Alderton, 36 Engineer Regiment, aged 22, from Bexley, Major Alexis Roberts, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, aged 32, from Kent, Colour Sergeant Phillip Newman, 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 36, Private Brian Tunnicliffe, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), aged 33, from Ilkeston, Corporal Ivano Violino, 36 Engineer Regiment, aged 29, from Salford and Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 25, from Nottingham. Private Johan Botha, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, from South Africa, Private Damian Wright, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 23, from Mansfield, Private Ben Ford, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, aged 18, from Chesterfield, Senior Aircraftman Christopher Bridge, C flight, 51 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment, aged 20, from Sheffield, Private Aaron James McClure, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 19, from Ipswich, Private Robert Graham Foster, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 19, from Harlow, Private John Thrumble, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 21, from Chelmsford, Captain David Hicks, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 26, from Surrey, Private Tony Rawson, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 27, from Dagenham, Essex, Lance Corporal Michael Jones, Royal Marines, aged 26, from Newbald, Yorkshire, Sergeant Barry Keen, 14 Signal Regiment, aged 34, from Gateshead, Guardsman David Atherton, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 25, from Manchester, Lance Corporal Alex Hawkins, 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, aged 22, from East Dereham, Norfolk, Guardsman Daryl Hickey, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, aged 27, from Birmingham, Sergeant Dave Wilkinson, 19 Regiment Royal Artillery, aged 33, from Ashford, Kent, Captain Sean Dolan, 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, aged 40, from the West Midlands, Marine Richard J Watson, 42 Commando Royal Marines, aged 23, from Caterham, Surrey, Marine Jonathan Wigley, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 21, from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Marine Gary Wright, 45 Commando Royal Marines, aged 22, from Glasgow, Lance Corporal Paul Muirhead, 1 Royal Irish Regiment, aged 29, from Bearley, Warwickshire, Lance Corporal Luke McCulloch, 1 Royal Irish Regiment, aged 21, Corporal Mark William Wright, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 27, from Edinburgh, Private Craig O’Donnell, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, aged 24, from Clydebank, Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson, aged 38, from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, Flight Lieutenant Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore, aged 28, from Bournemouth, Flight Lieutenant Gareth Rodney Nicholas, aged 40, from Newquay, Cornwall, Flight Lieutenant Allan James Squires, aged 39, from Clatterbridge, Flight Lieutenant Steven Swarbrick, aged 28, from Liverpool, Flight Sergeant Gary Wayne Andrews, aged 48, from Tankerton, Kent, Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie, aged 42, from Dundee, Flight Sergeant Gerard Martin Bell, aged 48, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, Flight Sergeant Adrian Davies, aged 49, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Sergeant Benjamin James Knight, aged 25, from Bridgwater, Sergeant John Joseph Langton, aged 29, from Liverpool, Sergeant Gary Paul Quilliam, aged 42, from Manchester, Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts, The Parachute Regiment, aged 27, Marine Joseph David Windall, Royal Marines, aged 22, and Ranger Anare Draiva, 1 Royal Irish Regiment, aged 27, from Fiji. Lance Corporal Jonathan Peter Hetherington, 14 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare), aged 22, from South Wales, Corporal Bryan James Budd, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, aged 29, from Ripon, Lance Corporal Sean Tansey, The Life Guards, aged 26, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, Private Leigh Reeves, Royal Logistics Corps, aged 25, from Leicester, Private Andrew Barrie Cutts, Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps, aged 19, from Mansfield, Captain Alex Eida, Royal Horse Artillery, aged 29, from Surrey, Second Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, Household Cavalry Regiment, aged 24, from Windsor, Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, Blues and Royals, aged 27, from Edinburgh, Private Damien Jackson, 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, aged 19, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, Corporal Peter Thorpe, Royal Signals, aged 27, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, Intelligence Corps, aged 24, from Birmingham, and Captain David Patton, The Parachute Regiment, aged 38. Sergeant Paul Bartlett, Royal Marines, aged 35, Captain Jim Phillipson, 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, aged 29, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, Lance Corporal Peter Edward Craddock, 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, aged 31, Corporal Mark Cridge, 7 Signal Regiment, aged 25, Lance Corporal Steven Sherwood, 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, aged 23, from Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, Private Jonathan Kitulagoda, The Rifle Volunteers, aged 23, from Clifton, Bedfordshire, Sergeant Robert Busuttil, the Royal Logistic Corps, Corporal John Gregory, the Royal Logistic Corps, and Private Darren John George, the Royal Anglian Regiment.

 

 

446 – British soldiers died in Afghanistan – four times the rate of US troops, a statistical disparity which politicians at Westminster have not yet explained – answers demanded – caltonjock

 

 

Other relevant articles

https://caltonjock.com/2018/06/26/boris-johnson-avoids-heathrow-runway-vote-to-commit-more-uk-soldiers-to-the-killing-fields-of-afghanistan-but-past-events-do-not-encourage-the-deployment-of-our-young-men-and-women/

https://caltonjock.com/2018/06/22/afghanistan-revealed-retired-us-army-general-accuses-uk-general-of-failing-to-protect-soldiers-under-his-command-can-this-the-reason-uk-casualties-were-four-times-higher-than-us-soldiers/

https://caltonjock.com/2018/06/21/446-british-soldiers-died-in-afghanistan-four-times-the-rate-of-us-troops-a-statistical-disparity-which-politicians-at-westminster-have-not-yet-explained-answers-demanded/

https://caltonjock.com/2017/07/07/afghanistan-thousands-of-young-soldiers-killed-and-maimed-at-four-times-the-rate-of-the-us-forces-i-asked-why-but-never-got-an-answer-does-anybody-know/

https://caltonjock.com/2014/08/29/a-jock-soldier-in-afghanistan-reflects-on-his-lot-in-rhyme-of-sorts-read-it-and-wonder/

https://caltonjock.com/2014/08/28/afghanistan-policy-in-the-field-of-war-decided-by-labour-politicians-british-army-suffered-horrendous-casualties-four-times-greater-than-the-americans-why/

https://caltonjock.com/2017/01/18/westminster-legacy-to-many-of-scotlands-soldiers-and-veterans-after-nearly-20-years-of-war-is-a-lifetime-on-alcohol-drugs-homeless-depression-and-abuse-but-scots-look-after-their-own/

https://caltonjock.com/2016/10/29/scottish-soldiers-past-present-and-future-from-the-dole-to-the-battlefield-oh-and-theres-the-covenant/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/03/01/heros-or-cannon-fodder-valued-or-abused-easy-living-or-overstretched-reduce-or-increase-political-playthings-or-saviours-of-the-nation/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/23/the-chilcott-inquiry-failures-of-the-military-elite-promotion-or-death/

https://caltonjock.com/2014/10/30/sir-jeremy-heywood-the-iraq-inquiry-other-controversies-are-his-hands-clean/

https://caltonjock.com/2014/09/16/military-veterans-called-up-to-support-better-together/

 

We will remember them - Our tribute to the casualties of the Afghanistan war

 

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Corbyn Spurned the Zionist Mafia and Lost – Israel Exacted Its Revenge – Scots Need to Get Out Of Westminster and Fast

 

Labour 'failing to act on antisemitism' | The Times

 

 

Jeremy Corbyn

The suspension and removal of the Party Whip from ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn was an act of political vandalism which might yet have repercussions should the Unions take offence and withhold finance from the Party.

But I expect the present leadership are beyond caring about the Unions since finance would be assured with the return of Labour to the political control of Israel re-establishing its power over British politics.

Yet another powerful reason why Scotland needs to break free from Westminster. Scots should set their own political agenda.

 

Why not turn the UK parliament into a holocaust memorial? – Redress Information & Analysis

 

 

The Westminster Committee on Standards in Public Life states:

“Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.”

 

 

THE TRAITOR WITHIN: The Chairman of the Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation

 

 

The Labour Party

Gordon Brown, in a speech to a Labour Friends of Israel meeting in April 2007, said:

“I had a very clear view about the history of Israel, about the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people, about the enormous suffering and loss during the Holocaust, as well as the extraordinary struggle that my father described to me of people to create their magnificent homeland.”

The Jerusalem Post, 27 Jun 2007 responded: “New British PM will be a friend to Israel”

 

Jewish Power in Great Britain - Radio Islam

 

The Labour for Israel group, (LFI) was founded in 1957.

It is a Westminster based lobby group working within the British Labour Party to promote the State of Israel.

The group is well connected within the party, and has regular meetings with ministers.

Ambitious MPs see a role with the LFI as a good way to get ahead. Chairs of the LFI very often go on to become UK government ministers.

James Purnell, (Head of Communications at the BBC) and Jim Murphy, (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland), were both chairmen of the group.

One of Blair’s first acts on becoming an MP in 1983 was to join the group maintaining close links with it throughout his time in office.

Blair also cultivated a personal and financial relationship with the Jewish businessman Michael Levy, and through him succeeded in gaining the financial support of many of the businessman’s Jewish friends.

Blair met Levy in 1994 at a dinner party thrown by Gideon Meir, number two at the Israeli Embassy.

The two men quickly recognized the mutual benefits offered by a working relationship.

By 1995, Blair, then the opposition leader was regularly stopping off at his new friends place for a swim and a game of tennis. But they were busy doing other things.

Between them they set up a “Blind Trust”, known as the “Labour Leader’s Office Fund” to which Levy and his business friends added over £2m.

Blair maintained that he was unaware of the sources of the donations despite being in almost constant contact with Levy and even meeting some of the donors.

Jon Mendelsohn, former chairman of the LFI and Gordon Brown’s chief election fundraiser, speaking in 2007, praised Blair’s achievement in transforming the Labour Party’s position on Israel.

He said: “Blair attacked the anti-Israelism that had existed in the Labour Party.” Blair told Levy, “I am absolutely determined that we must not go into the next election financially dependent on the trade unions.”

The trade off was to embrace “Zionism” which became the pervasive mantra of “New Labour”. The Labour Party became financially dependent on donors with strong views on Israel.

Lord Levy is estimated to have raised over £15m for the Labour Party and Blair before the “cash for peerages” ended Levy’s illegal fundraising in the summer of 2006.

 

Who liked Dispatches? – Blog – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community

 

 

The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party Friends of Israel Lobby Group

David Cameron, in a speech to a Conservative Friends of Israel Dinner in 2010, said:

“I am proud not just to be a Conservative, but a Conservative friend of Israel; and I am proud of the key role CFI plays within our Party. Israel is a democracy, a strong and proud democracy, in a region that is, we hope, making its first steps in that direction.”

Conservative Party politician and historian Robert Rhodes James the Lobby group as: “the largest organization in Western Europe dedicated to the cause of the people of Israel.”

It is beyond doubt the best connected, and best funded, of all Westminster lobbying groups. Eighty percent of Conservative MPs are members.

Michael Mates, former member of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee said, “the pro-Israel lobby in our body politic is the most powerful political lobby. There’s nothing to touch them.”

He added, “I think their lobbying is done very discreetly, in very high places, which may be why it is so effective.”

The aims of both groups is to:

Promote a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel educating members of both movements on the policy successes and challenges within Israeli society.

Support the Government of Israel in its efforts to continue to seek the realization of a two state solution, with Palestine, recognized and safe within its borders, living peacefully alongside a democratic and viable Palestinian state.

 

How a throwaway 2016 Brexit remark sowed seeds that grew into this week's split in both Labour and Tory parties