Three hundred elated cyclists rolled into Paris yesterday — completing their 350-mile trek to raise £1million for Help for Heroes.
The riders, who included wounded servicemen on hand-powered bikes, got a heroes’ welcome at the Arc de Triomphe.
Parisians stood to attention as the cyclists loudly sang God Save The Queen before laying wreaths by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The group ended their epic journey at the Eiffel Tower.
The Band of Brothers Battlefield Bike Ride, from Cherbourg to Paris via the Normandy beaches, hoped to raise £500,000 towards the £20million needed for seven new Hero Recovery Centres.
But as they hit Paris they learned £1million had already been pledged in sponsorship.
Ex-Green Jacket soldier Harry Long – on a hand-cycle – was welcomed with a kiss from Page 3’s Peta and Poppy, shuttled to the French capital on The Sun’s battle bus.
Harry, 33, is paralysed from the chest down after breaking his neck and back during exercises three years ago.
He said: “It’s a tremendous feeling — but I’m tired and in need of a beer.”
The trek was particularly tough on the hand-bike riders.
Reservist trooper Adam Cocks, 26, of the Honourable Artillery Company, had his leg shattered by mines in Afghanistan. He said: “The reception was overwhelming.”
Last year’s bike ride raised £1.4million when it was the only Help for Heroes event.
The Sun-backed charity’s founder Bryn Parry said this year’s event could match the total despite taking place alongside many other events.
He said: “It’s fantastic how the charity has taken off.”
An MOD policeman with 20 years previous experience working with West Yorkshire Police is currentrly deployed to Helmand where he is mentoring the Afghan National Police Force.
Following two decades of service with his local police force, Inspector Bill McGuinness transferred to the Ministry of Defence Police in 2006. He deployed to Helmand Province in December 2008 where he works alongside his international police colleagues.
British and NATO forces are in Afghanistan to stabilise the war-torn country and to extend security, and vital to this is the development of the Afghan National Police.
Insp McGuinness is based at the Headquarters of UK Task Force Helmand in the town of Lashkar Gah.
One of his main roles is mentoring the police and passing on the basic skills he has picked up back in England, from evidence-gathering to conducting investigations and dealing with suspects.
He said:
“I have been involved in working in a number of other roles since arriving in Afghanistan including counter-narcotics and logistics. I am currently mentoring a major in the Afghan National Police who commands the Guard Force that is responsible for the security of the newly-built Provincial Police Headquarters in Lashkar Gah.”
Although his police career in Yorkshire was certainly active, Insp McGuinness has witnessed more than his fair share of trauma during his tour in Afghanistan. One day in particular, 16 March 2009, will forever stand out in his memory:
“Obviously my colleagues and I will never forget the day the suicide bomber attacked the new police headquarters we were working in at the time,” he said.
Thanks to a conscientious Afghan policeman who used the skills and techniques taught by Insp McGuinness and his colleagues, all of those inside the HQ survived the attack and the new police headquarters was not damaged.
Insp McGuinness said:
“The new Helmand Provincial Police Headquarters is a real asset for the Afghan National Police and seeing this facility progress and seeing the police force take shape has been very rewarding.
“I have been directly involved with mentoring the Guard Force for the headquarters and improving their conditions and security skills.”
His six-month tour will finish in June 2009. He said:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Afghan National Police force. Being in Afghanistan has been an incredible and rewarding experience and working alongside so many different people from different countries and backgrounds has been a highlight for me.”
UK and international civilian police monitors are supporting the development of the Afghan National Police at the headquarters and across the province.
An infantry soldier recently found himself digging for 20 minutes with his fingers and a paint brush to uncover a Taliban bomb buried on a dusty road in Helmand.
Colour Sergeant Ben Cox of 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (2 MERCIAN) had gone out at about 1000hrs as part of a ten-man mentoring team from 2 MERCIAN, which met up with around 30 members of the Afghan National Army to conduct a routine foot patrol. CSgt Cox was the ‘point man’ at the front of the patrol.
Part of the point man’s duties is to observe and check the track ahead for anything potentially dangerous and CSgt Cox was concerned that an area ahead would present an ideal opportunity for the insurgents to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) – in other words a homemade bomb.
CSgt Cox halted the patrol just after 1100hrs so that he could investigate this area in detail, and very soon he began to get a strong indication on his metal detector.
He said: “I’m not a bomb specialist, I’m an infanteer. To get down and start looking for some bomb, a lot goes through your head. You have to remove dirt so slowly it’s unbelievable – it could go off at any time.
“It’s quite an experience, you should try it.
“The Taliban try to blend in what they have buried with the rest of the ground but I saw something noticeable.”
Those signs were enough to confirm the presence of the IED:
“What you’ve been taught comes into action. You go through your drills, then start your fingertip search. A lot of stuff goes through your head then, as you can imagine. It took about 15 to 20 minutes to dig with my fingers and a paint brush until I found it.”
Rather than remove the device, an extremely dangerous process, the area was marked and a specialist team called out to remove it.
When the bomb disposal people arrived they found another device and ten days later the same group went out on a patrol in the same area and found another two devices.
CSgt Cox said: “This is a busy junction used by the local population. It could have killed anybody.
“The way we see it every one we find saves lives. If that went off that would have taken a whole vehicle out. The next day they found another one and ten days later we were in the same place and found another two, so we found four in ten days. Imagine if those four devices had gone off – what kind of casualties?
“I was very pleased to be out on the ground, but I think what the soldiers do every day – carrying that weight with all their kit on in that heat – I think they are doing a fantastic job.”
The incident took place near Patrol Base Arygll, in the Nad e-Ali area.
Commanding Officer of 2 MERCIAN, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Banton, said:
“The quick reactions and use of the correct equipment and drills undoubtedly saved life that day. In addition the insurgents were denied their precious arsenal and sustained casualties as a result.
“This incident proves once again that the British force in this area will not be deterred from their mission to provide a peaceful and stable environment for the local population.
“Also the Afghan National Army unit in attendance was given a demonstration of professional drills saving the lives of local people and the soldiers themselves. The hope is that they will continue to learn from these lessons and put them into practice within their units.”
CSgt Cox is normally based at Camp Shorabak where he acts as the Quartermaster Sergeant and ensures all troops on the ground are properly equipped.
He makes regular visits to troops in smaller bases to test the kit and it was during one of these visits that he found himself on patrol. He added:
“This was my first day of a three-week visit to Patrol Base Arygll, in the Nad e-Ali area. This is a lush green area with poppy and wheat fields on either side but dust roads.”
2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) deployed to Afghanistan as the Operational Mentoring Liaison Team Battle Group on 27 March 2009 for a six-month operational tour and are due to return in late September 2009. The battalion mentors and trains the Afghan National Army so it can tackle the Taliban themselves. This is the battalion’s third tour of Afghanistan in five years.
Gurkha veterans who have served four years with the historic regiment will be told tomorrow that they will be allowed to settle in the UK. The home secretary is expected to reverse government guidance issued last month that made the obstacles to entry almost insurmountable for ordinary Gurkha soldiers traditionally recruited from Nepal.
It is understood that Jacqui Smith will announce rules that will allow entry into the UK for Gurkhas previously excluded because they retired from the regiment before 1997, provided they have fought for the British army for at least four years.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday saying the government should immediately approve the 1,400 outstanding applications for settlement, whether they meet new criteria established by the Home Office or not.
In a reprimand to the government, Vaz said: “The figure of 100,000 ex-Gurkhas including dependants publicly cited by the government as likely to take up settlement is clearly much overblown.”
The prospective turnaround in policy came after the Labour government suffered its first big defeat last month by 21 votes, as 27 Labour rebels joined the Tories and Liberal Democrats in demanding equal residency rights for all Gurkha soldiers after a high-profile public campaign.
In an indication of the imminent policy volte face, Gordon Brown said at prime minister’s questions that he had a “great deal of sympathy and support” for Gurkhas who wished to live in the UK. He said: “I believe it is possible for us to honour our commitments to the Gurkhas and to do so in a way that protects the public finances. That will be part of the announcement that is made tomorrow.”
The Vaz letter to the prime minister followed a private round table discussion between Gurkhas and their campaigners and the government on the issue. The committee urged the government to “use our conclusions as a catalyst to announcing a much-needed change in policy”.
He said the prospective benefit to the UK economy by the ex-Gurkhas was agreed by all to be high, both in terms of skills and economic power and in visa application fees. The committee had heard no evidence of a threat to future recruitment of Gurkhas to the British army in Nepal.
Martin Howe, one of the lawyers representing the majority of Gurkhas fighting for settlement, said: “We hope that the Gurkhas will be entitled to settlement if they have four years’ service. We understand that this will be reviewed in four years time. If this is the case, we will be delighted and thankful.”
David Enright, another Gurkha lawyer, said: “We think it’s more or less a fait accompli but we have had several false dawns before … I’m not going to celebrate until I know for sure.”
Earlier this month, actor Joanna Lumley extracted concessions from the home office minister Phil Woolas live on television. Five Gurkhas had been sent letters telling them that they did not qualify for admittance to the UK a day after Brown had promised that the former solders’ cases would be reviewed. Brown had not known about the letters and was only informed of their existence by Lumley.
The MPs are pigs gobbling all the money they can from ‘Us the taxpayers’
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Nick Brown says he is working “flat out” for his constituents
The focus in the row over MPs’ expenses has shifted to claims made by the Labour and Conservative chief whips.
The Daily Telegraph has published details on expenses claimed by Labour’s Nick Brown and the shadow chief whip, Patrick McLoughlin.
It says Mr Brown made claims totalling £87,708 over four years, including £18,800 for food, and Mr McLoughlin claimed £3,000 for new windows.
Both politicians say that they have done nothing wrong.
Mr Brown, MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, has been at the centre of his party’s efforts to contain the scandal, moving to suspend two Labour MPs accused of making claims for mortgage payments on “phantom loans”.
The Telegraph says that Mr Brown’s claims, which he made public himself a few days ago, totalled £87,708 between 2004 and 2008.
This included £18,800 for food, with regular claims of £400 per month during the recess. Until recently, MPs were able to claim up to £400 a month for food without providing receipts.
The claims represented a contribution to the cost of my Newcastle home. It doesn’t represent the full cost that I bear myself
Nick Brown MP
In 2004/5 and 2005/6, the paper says, Mr Brown submitted claims for £200 every month for “repairs” and £200 every month for “service and maintenance” as well as £250 per month for cleaning, without submitting any receipts.
On claims during recess Mr Brown said: “I spend the recess in my second home, against which I claim, working in my constituency and, for the last two years, carrying out my responsibilities as Minister for the Region.”
‘Bullish defence’
BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said Mr Brown had sought to pre-empt disclosure of his own expenses by publishing redacted information several days ago and was mounting a bullish defence of his behaviour.
Mr Brown told his local newspaper, the Newcastle Journal, that he claimed the “full amount” for subsistence costs but this had to be seen in the context of his responsibilities as chief whip and minister for the North East.
Patrick McLoughlin is reported to have claimed £3,000 for windows
“I am working flat out for the people I represent,” he told the paper, pointing out that he spent Monday to Thursday in London and Friday and Saturday in the North East on ministerial and constituency business, before returning to London on Sunday.
“The claims represented a contribution to the cost of my Newcastle home. It doesn’t represent the full cost that I bear myself. When the system moved from un-receipted to receipted expenditure, I submitted receipts for everything I claimed.”
The Telegraph also says Mr McLoughlin, MP for Derbyshire West, claimed £3,000 for new windows and thousands for regular decoration of his Derbyshire home.
He told the BBC he met most of the cost for the windows.
Other claims made by the Telegraph include:
• Steve McCabe, Labour whip, who the paper says over-claimed £4,059 on a mortgage. He told the BBC he disputes the sum. He “did make an error”, as he told the Telegraph. But once the Fees Office notified him of this two to three years ago, he sorted it out by offsetting against subsequent claims, he said.
• Helen Goodman, another Labour whip, claimed for a week’s stay in a holiday cottage over a bank holiday. She told the BBC she has a large, rural constituency and that before she had a house there she stayed in hotels or rented. During the summer 2005 recess, she wanted to work in the constituency for 10 days and it was cheaper to rent a cottage with her family than staying in a hotel. She worked every day of her stay and has the documentation to prove it, she added.
‘Valid move’
The paper’s decision to publish details of MPs’ expenses claims has prompted calls for wholesale political reform.
Gordon Brown told Labour MPs on Monday that it was “imperative” that action was taken now to reform the expenses system, which has led to the suspension of two Labour MPs and caused embarrassment to all parties.
Speaker Michael Martin is meeting the leaders of all three major parties on Tuesday to discuss the crisis and has said no more second home claims will be accepted for the time being.
Reports on Monday also suggested John Austin, Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, had claimed a total of £133,000 in second home allowances since 2001, despite the fact the two London flats he lived in over the period were just over 10 miles away from his main residence in Kent.
Mr Austin is the latest MP to come under scrutiny
Mr Austin said his claims had been reasonable and within the rules.
The paper said he sold a flat in south London for £140,000 in 2006, having bought it for £110,000 three years earlier.
After purchasing a new property for £225,000, the paper said Mr Austin spent more than £10,000 on a new bathroom, kitchen and carpets.
“The [house] move was for a valid reason and I do not think it inappropriate for costs associated with the move to be claimed from the allowance,” he said.
The Commons authorities told him it was reasonable to leave behind items such as fridges and washing machines when he moved, necessitating fresh purchases.
“These items were approved in advance by the Fees Office and very modest purchases were made, at considerably less cost than the guidelines,” he added.
MUADZAM SHAH: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will assist the indigenous people through a special ethnic minority programme.
Women Development Department director-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur said the ministry officials would venture into remote areas to hold various activities for them next month.
“We have chosen the Penan community in Sarawak while in the peninsula, we will go to the states where there are a large number of Orang Asli settlements.
“The programme will equip them with the necessary skills and help their children to hone their entrepreneurship skills,” Noorul said after attending a one-day seminar on prevention of violence against women and children at Felda Selancar 2 here yesterday.
She said the programme was part of the ministry’s efforts to ensure that Orang Asli children had proper jobs in future to improve their family’s livelihood.
She said the participants would also learn to make and sell handicraft for a living.
Rompin member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, who closed the seminar, expressed concern over the social problems affecting the Orang Asli community here.
He said many Orang Asli women had to live with their parents after their jobless spouses left them.
“Sometimes, the wife would follow her husband, leaving the children behind with their grandparents.”
Yesterday’s seminar was attended by 250 Felda settlers.
