My M.P. is Garry Streeter (Con.)

I emailed last week but no reply. Maybe I am wrong, and if I am I appologise but why do I get the feeling that like a lot of spineless MP's he is sitting on the fence to see which way this is going to go.
Or just maybe he is so important, dealing with important issues, (I can only imagine) that unimportant people like me with unimportant issues are not worthy of even an acknowledgment!!

I am sure a lot of ex servicemen and women in my area will be interested in his attitude come the election!!

Bob Bryant

My MP is David Mundell, (Conservative) Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, who has been very supportive since the start and he instituted an Early Day Motion in Parliament. He has been very disappointed that they imposed restrictions on the Pingat Jasa Malaysia and has written to Ian Pearson advising him of his feelings (don't hold your breath) and he says he will continue to pursue this issue both with Ministers and in Parliament. The other MP for Dumfries is Russell Brown (Labour) but I would not even consider asking 'wee broon' as he is full of it.

Using The Lobby page, I have just learned who my MP is - Danny Alexander! I also got his email address from you so I can now write to him. Whatever the result today (Murrayfield - Scotland v. England), we're all together on this medal campaign. We won't let them grind us down. There are some pretty strong feelings about this and what they're doing in London to the Scottish Regiments. Thanks for getting this web site together. Ex-Borneo veteran.

Now that the game at Murrayfield is over, I just thought that I'd take a minute away from my glass of 'The MacAllan' and pause in my celebratory rendition of 'The Flow'r o' Scotland', long enough to type in:

...Drummer....good to have you with us!

We can use all the help we can get...Go for it!
'Jock'.

Reference my last post dated 19th Feb

I am pleased to say that I was wrong when I stated that my M.P. Gary Streeter ( Con.) had not replied. I have now not only received a reply from him, but he states that he is in full support of our cause and will lobby the goverment, in particular Gordon Brown over the disgracefull "Veterans Day" debacle.......he gets my vote.

Sometimes it is good to be wrong.

Yours Aye,
Bob Bryant

If you have yet to receive a reply to your letter of the 17th then please do not be too impatient, remember the MP's have been on holiday until today and most back benchers do not have huge supporting staffs. They do however have huge mail bags. I am with my MP tomorrow for his surgery and I will raise this issue with him to get maximum Conservative support. I am an officer of his constituency and a local District Councillor.
John

jireland wrote:

If you have yet to receive a reply to your letter of the 17th then please do not be too impatient, remember the MP's have been on holiday until today and most back benchers do not have huge supporting staffs. They do however have huge mail bags. I am with my MP tomorrow for his surgery and I will raise this issue with him to get maximum Conservative support. I am an officer of his constituency and a local District Councillor.
John

John,

Thank you for your support and for raising this issue with your MP. It is clearly good advice to be patient, but the frustration that many correspondents feel is sometimes overwhelming.

The briefing that has been given out by the MoD is misleading - and I do not believe that that disinformation is accidental. I have no idea what their agenda is, but the Conservative Shadow Veterans Minister seems to have swallowed the disinformation that abounds hook, 'party' line and sinker.

The main barrier to their understanding is that without research resources, they are unable to assess all the aspects of every case that hits their busy desks. Some then fall into the trap of assuming that the Government and the HD Committee 'must be right' because they talk about 'the long-standing system' within which they work, and we lay people who are lobbying for the right to wear a medal, sometimes with great energy and excitement, are not to be taken too seriously in a world where more weighty matters prevail. But we have far too many examples of the Government and the Establishment misusing and abusing their power - and the PJM is one more example.

I have contacted you off-list with some additional information that may be helpful to you when you meet your MP.

It would be of help to know which MP you are in touch with - this enables us to track where the gaps are in our contact with our MPs.

Thank you again for your support. Barry


_________________
BarryF, who fought for the Right to Wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Dear Barry, I have copied the letter from Mark Harper and I agree that I find his reply rather odd to say the least.

I will hand it to my MP this afternoon when I meet with him, you can read his attack on the military presence in Iraq in todays Daily Mail. Michael Ancram is an extremely experienced member of the House and has more than just a soft spot for the Armed Forces. His constituency covers Tidworth Garrison and he is a member of the Royal British Legion. I discussed this matter at length with his agent Sqn Ldr Ian Ramsey MBE Rtd. this morning (Ians father in law is entitled to the PJM) and Ian is going to ensure that Michael has a thorough breifing on the subject. As a past Shadow Minister of Defence he has a lot of influence in this field amongst Conservative Members of Parliament and indeed, Members from all other parties.

I will also send Mark Harper an e-mail and register my disquiet at his reply perhaps we should all bombard Mark with e-mails!

Regards
John

John re your letter Mark Harper I think you meant Australian Governor General was awarded the PJM. The GG is a Borneo veteran and was seconded to the British SAS from the Australian Army during the Borneo confrontation.
Hamish

I have emailed HAR HAR (lets hope he does'nt end up in the house of lords) today & sent him a full list of facts about the PJM. He should be the best inform MP by Monday with us all having a go at him.

Please see my reply on 'My MP'
John

jireland wrote:

Please see my reply on 'My MP'
John

Thank you jireland. I have also written to Harper MP, I cannot bring myself to mention his full name. I was incensed by his remark (see my letter) about British GSM's where he said we could decide whether or not we wished to wear them - or words to that effect. How dare he tell us what we can or cannot do with medals earned in action.

I have just received a reply from my MP and I attach it below. She is obviously playing political ping pong because she wrote to Touhig "on my behalf". I presume that she considers me so stupid that I am incapable of writing to the so-called Veteran's Minister on my own behalf. Of course, Touhig, whose shoulders are so greasy that even his shirt slides off, sends it to Pinoccio Pearson. And guess what I get in return. A copy of his Ministerial Statement. I have not bothered to attach that on the grounds that (a) you all know it off by heart, and (b) I refuse to assist in the peddling of lies and half truths. What I have attached is Pinoccio's covering letter, which repeats the familiar old claptrap. Except for the final paragraph in which he uses the word authority. He admits that there is no policing of what medals can be worn by civilians if "they wish to wear this or any other, medal without authority". So now we have moved on from the confusion as to what is defined as formal permission to wear, to what is authorised to be worn. Surely for any person or group of people to have authority over another person or group of people, that authority must first be vested in them by the due process of law? There will be a king-sized snottogram going off to my MP this weekend, especially as she has decided to change the name of my Close. I can only assume that, although it was clearly shown without a W (as in Knole), she, or some half-wit in her pay, decided that this old git could not possibly know his own address. She still has not answered the basic question - Ms Moffatt, are you for or against us? I will take her lack of a definite answer on this one to be a big no. Okay, Ms Moffatt, in the next General Election be prepared to see your majority of 37 whittled down to a number in the dole queue.


_________________
Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)

I was so incensed that I forgot to attach the letters. Here goes.
Laura Moffatt MP
Labour Member for Crawley
Constituency Office:
6 The Broadway
Crawley, RH1O 1DS
Telephone: 01293 526005
Fax: 01293 527610
E-mail: moffattl@parliament.uk
20 April 2006
MrG Law
6 Knowle Close
Pound Hill
CRAWLEY
RH10 7GA


Dear Mr Law

Please find enclosed a response I have received from the Foreign Office which I hope you will find helpful.


Yours sincerely






Laura Moffatt
Member of Parliament for Crawley

Department of Trade and Industry
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
Our Reference: 26780
From The Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs

Laura Moffatt MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA







Thank you for your letter of 7 March to Don Touhig on behalf of your constituent Mr
Gerald Law, 6 Knowle Close, Pound Hill, Crawley RH1O 7GA about the Pingat Jasa
Malaysia (PJM). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for the
administration of the Rules governing the accepting and wearing of non-British
awards. I am replying as Minister responsible for our relations with Malaysia.

I made a Statement about the PJM in the Commons on 31 January. I attach a copy,
which you may like to pass to Mr Law, if he does not already have one.

Each request for British citizens to be permitted to receive and wear a non-British
award is considered on its merits, in the light of the Rules governing the accepting and
wearing of non-British awards, taking into account any special circumstances at the
time of the request. There is no entitlement to any non-British award.

Generally speaking, neither accepting nor wearing a non-British award is permitted
when the events relating to the medal in question took place more than 5 years before
initial consideration and/or when a British medal has been awarded for the same
service.

The exception to the Rules recommended by the HD Committee with regard to the
PJM, seeks to recognise the generous gesture by the Malaysian authorities while
preserving the integrity of the British Honours system — a key point of which is that
only one medal may be worn in recognition of a particular event or action.

Mr Law asks how the ban on wearing the medal will be policed. The wearing of
medals by civilians is not policed, and it is up to the individual concerned whether
they wish to wear this or any other, medal without authority.


_________________
Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)

Here is the response to the letter that I got from my MP yesterday.
Pingat Jasa Malaysia

Dear Ms Moffatt

Thank you for your letter, which arrived yesterday. Sadly, it is of no help whatsoever in our quest to get justice for 35 000 British veterans of the Malaya/Borneo campaigns with regards to the Pingat Jasa Malaysia.

Mr Touhig, to whom you originally wrote, has ignored all previous communications from me, and in passing your letter on to Mr Pearson he yet again shows how adept he has become at playing political ping pong with this issue. In letters to my fellow campaigners, both Mr Touhig and Mr Pearson have shown a woeful lack of knowledge of the facts behind the case that we present.

Indeed, Mr Touhig is fast gaining a reputation for hypocrisy and inaction in his attitudes towards British veterans. As Veteran’s Minister we would expect him to champion our cause – to fight our corner. But he merely sidesteps the matter and passes it on to the FCO.

Of course, he is keen to be photographed with a French Resistance veteran as he presents her with her long overdue parachutist’s badge, and this is an opportunity to mouth the usual platitudes about honouring our veterans. But once the sound bite is over, he becomes once more the mouthpiece of the MoD, who are also woefully out of touch with the facts in this case.

Mr Pearson’s Ministerial Statement of 31 January 2006 is common knowledge amongst the veterans. It was the main reason that led me to join the campaign group that now fights for justice. The Statement is a piece of garbed nonsense reminiscent of something concocted by Sir Humphrey Appleby in “Yes, Prime Minister”.

Mr Pearson openly admits that there is no action that can be taken against civilians like myself who decide to wear the PJM, so why is the medal not given unrestricted status anyway, and save everyone the hassle?

In fact, in his letter to me, via yourself, he introduces yet another element of confusion. I quote from his final paragraph – “and it is up to the individual concerned whether they wish to wear this medal or any other, medal without authority”. (The misuse of the comma is not mine but in the original text).

I do not know which dictionary Mr Pearson uses but mine defines the word “authority” as:
1. the power or right to control, judge, or prohibit the actions of others;
2. person or group of people having this power, such as a government, police force, etc;
3. a position that commands such a power or right;
4. such a power or right delegated;
5. the ability to influence or control others;
6. an expert or an authoritative work in a particular field;
7. evidence or testimony;
8. confidence resulting from great expertise;
9, a public board or corporation exercising governmental authority.

So which of these is Mr Pearson now assuming that he, or his Ministerial colleagues, has? Surely for any person, or group of people, to be able to claim authority over another person, or group of people, that authority must be vested in the person, or group of people, claiming the authority. This would, in a fully functioning democracy, be by means of an Act of Parliament. Have we veterans missed the enactment of some vital legislation that granted the relevant authority to someone, over the wearing of medals by civilians?

The web site that I mention at the head of this letter is proving to be highly successful in generating support for our campaign. It is not for me to advise you – I do not claim that authority – but I really do think that it would be beneficial for you to gauge the depth of feeling amongst many “ordinary” people on this matter. After all, they are the voters.

We have the direct support of, amongst many others;
Lt.Cdr. Ian Fraser VC, DSC, RD and Bar JP;
Bill Speakman-Pitt VC;
Leslie Thomas OBE;
Drummond Window MBE, RVM;
Dame Vera Lynn DBE, LLD, MMUS

Incidentally, on a personal note, you might like to make your staff aware that although I am an aging veteran, I am fully compos mentis. This means that when I write to your office with my address clearly defined as a banner at the top of the first page, that address is correct. There is absolutely no requirement for anyone in your office to decide that I have omitted the “w” from Knole. It is as it says – Knole not Knowle. Unless, of course, someone has an “authority” of which I am not aware and has changed the name of my Close. I believe that it is very important, for if a constituent is to have confidence in their MP, that MP must at least know something of that constituent, even something as trivial as the correct address.


_________________
Gerald Law (ex RAF Borneo Veteran)