British government defense minister; James Heappey, has apologized after mistakenly saying on TV that a British Afghan veteran took their own life over the crisis in Afghanistan.
On August 31, the last British and US troops left Afghanistan bringing an end to a 20-year military campaign in the country.
James Heappey on Monday said that at least one veteran who served in Afghanistan has taken their own life. He said he felt “sick to the bottom of my stomach” after learning a soldier who served in Afghanistan had taken their own life,” who did so because of their feeling over the consequences of withdrawal” of US forces from Afghanistan.
But a few minutes later, he told the BBC on-air that the report may be inaccurate.
The Ministry of Defence debunk the report and said it was looking into the report of the death and for now it is not true.
Read More: Afghan Refugee Heading To UK Gives Birth Inside Planehttps://agnesisika.com/afghan-refugee-heading-to-uk-gives-birth-inside-plane/
The confusion began when Mr. James Heappey appeared on Sky News on Monday morning and talked about UK veterans’ mental health.
He said British servicemen and women had been hugely affected by the withdrawal of UK and US troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent Taliban takeover.
“It’s my understanding that in the last few days there have been people who have taken their life,” he said. “Certainly a person who has taken their life who did so because of their feelings as a consequence of withdrawal.
“And that makes me sick to the bottom of my stomach and fearful for many of my friends who I know are still struggling with what they saw on those tours of Afghanistan.
“And that’s why the government, the nation needs to put our arm around our veterans and tell them how proud we are of what they did.”
But within the hour, while he was interviewed on BBC Breakfast, Mr. Heappey corrected himself on air.
When asked about the report of the veteran’s death, he said: “Since I mentioned that to your colleague Kay Burley on Sky only 20 minutes ago, we’ve had several reports that actually the thing I was referring to was inaccurate.
“We’re looking very, very carefully at whether or not it is true that someone has taken their life in the last few days, but actually that shouldn’t take away that far too many service people have taken their own lives in the last 10 years as a consequence of their service in Afghanistan.”
And he then tweeted an apology to a Sky journalist, saying: “I’m sorry to have said something that might not be true. The note referred very accurately to my last tour of Afghanistan with 2 RIFLES in 2009 and I’ve spent weekends fearing colleague had taken their life. However, MoD aren’t certain that note is real so wanted to clarify.”
It is understood MoD officials believe the report is untrue.
Meanwhile, the scenes unfolding in Afghanistan have brought back a lot of traumatic memories and mixed emotions for some veterans.
