David Ruffley MP will be addressing the Bury St Edmunds branch of the Royal British legion in Bardwell on Friday 14 December at 4.30pm.

Ron Day, the head of the Bury veterans, called this meeting for David to talk to the Bury St Edmunds Royal British Legion about their concerns over how the current generation of soldiers are being treated.

David said:

'The older generation of veterans in Bury St Edmunds are upset about the treatment of the young veterans of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'I am inundated with calls from Bury veterans who have grave concerns over how the younger generations of soldiers are being treated. Amongst other issues, they are worried about their hospital treatment, their rehabilitation and compensation and their living conditions.

'I am deeply touched by how Bury St Edmunds veterans are lobbying on behalf of their comrade veterans of more recent conflicts. The Royal British Legion recognise that these are young people in their teens and twenties, who are putting their life on the line on behalf of us all, and they want to do everything they can to support them.

'There is something called the Military Covenant which this Government appears to have forgotten.

'We need to look at the schools our armed forces send their children to. We have got to look at the housing, so much of which is completely sub-standard. And we have got to look at health care. When you are wounded on a battlefield you want to recover with your comrades and that must mean a separate military ward. The Military Managed ward set up by the Government at Selly Oak has been reported as having just 14 beds- in July alone 145 injured soldiers were flown back from war zones requiring treatment. The result is soldiers being treated alongside civilians.

'Our armed forces must not be undervalued and deserve better treatment from this Government.

'It will be an honour to address the Royal British Legion in Bardwell this week and I will be certain to represent their concerns at the highest level.'