Afghanistan: Defence minister says veteran suicide claim inaccurate

A government defence minister has said he was wrong to say a British Afghan veteran took their own life after seeing events unfold in Afghanistan.

Earlier, James Heappey told Sky News he felt “sick to the bottom of my stomach” after learning a soldier who served in Afghanistan had taken their own life.

But he later told the BBC he had been wrong, and the report was inaccurate.

The Ministry of Defence said it was looking into the report of the death, but it is understood it is untrue.

The confusion began when Mr Heappey appeared on Sky News on Monday morning, and started speaking about British veterans’ mental health.

He said British servicemen and women had been hugely affected by the withdrawal of UK and US troops 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 later, 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 a number of 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.”

It is understood MoD officials believe that the report was fabricated.

The mix-up comes ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s a statement on Afghanistan in the House of Commons.

There has been widespread criticism of the way the West withdrew, with questions over how the Taliban was able to seize control of the country at such speed.

And there is also concern that Afghans eligible to come to the UK- many of whom worked with the British armed forces or government – have been left behind.

The prime minister is expected to defend his handling of the crisis and reiterate his vow to use “every economic, political and diplomatic lever” to help the Afghans.

The last British and US troops left Afghanistan at the end of August, bringing their 20-year military campaign in the country to an end.

source: bbc