‘We are failing veterans’: Leeds Army veteran shot by sniper backs urgent call for change
Leeds veteran shot by sniper backs campaign demanding ‘generational shift’ in support for veterans
A Leeds veteran shot in the face by a sniper is calling on people to sign an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, which calls on the Government to lead a generational shift in support for veterans.
Simon Brown, who served in the Army for a decade, is lending his voice to a national campaign calling for enhanced support for ex-service personnel.
The 47-year-old was shot in the face by a sniper when he was called to rescue a stranded vehicle with a crew of six on board, following an insurgent attack in Iraq.
Mr Brown, from Morley, joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1997. During his career, he worked as a mechanic servicing and maintaining armed vehicles, serving in Germany, Kosovo, Poland, Canada, and Iraq.
The bullet entered his left cheek and exited the other side but Mr Brown was able to perform his own first aid for 25 minutes before his colleagues managed to get him to Basra Palace.
When he woke from an induced coma 17 days later in a Birmingham hospital, he had lost his left eye and was left with around 20 per cent vision in his right eye.
The open letter, spearheaded by the Armed Forces charity Help for Heroes, highlights ongoing struggles faced by veterans in accessing essential healthcare, financial security, and welfare services. The initiative has already amassed over 30,000 signatures in just three weeks.
"Many veterans, particularly those injured while serving, still struggle to locate and access the quality healthcare, financial security and support they need and deserve," Mr Brown said.
The former Mayor of Morley said: "As a nation, we have made a promise through the Armed Forces Covenant that no-one would be disadvantaged because they served our nation. We are failing to deliver on this promise."
The letter outlines practical reforms proposed in the charity’s ‘People’s Promise to Veterans’ and is due to be delivered to No. 10 Downing Street next month. Help for Heroes has reported a 30 per cent increase in demand for its services over the past year.
High-profile figures, including TV presenter Lorraine Kelly CBE, actor Ross Kemp, and former head of the British Army, Lord Richard Dannatt, have already added their names to the appeal.
Mr Brown, now an ambassador for Help for Heroes, added: “Help for Heroes has 20 years of experience, supporting tens of thousands of veterans and families, so we know what needs to be done.
“With the push to expand our Armed Forces, because of an increasingly unstable global picture, if we don’t get this right now, we’re sleepwalking towards a crisis.”
The charity champions the Armed Forces community, providing support for physical and mental health, welfare, and social needs for veterans and their families.
For more information about the letter visit: https://act.helpforheroes.org.uk/node/450