Hubble, bubble, no toil, no troublle

Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South, Labour)

I want to place on record, adding to what has been said already, my admiration for the speech of Andrew Percy. I speak as one of the Members of Parliament for Blackpool, a town which has had a strong focus on service issues and which was involved in the launch of veterans week. I also declare an interest as chair of the all-party veterans group.
The argument for retaining the office of chief coroner cannot be divorced from the trauma and tragedy of the unexplained deaths and unanswered questions around Deepcut barracks over a seven-year period. Deepcut is not the only place from which the grief and trauma of the families who galvanised the urgency for the office came. I was first involved in this issue through the work of my colleague, the former Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, Joan Humble, who took up the case of Lance Corporal Derek McGregor, who died at the Catterick barracks in July 2003. His father was one of Joan’s constituents. She chaired the all-party group on Army deaths, which focused on peacetime non-combat deaths. She has not forgotten the issue, and nor have the bereaved families of service personnel. This Saturday there will be a conference in Blackpool for bereaved service families organised by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. Those bereaved families hoped and believed that the office of the chief coroner would have a team to look systematically at the other reports from coroners on Army deaths and to make recommendations to the Ministry of Defence. It is in that context that the whole issue of narrative verdicts on how a son or daughter has died is important, not simply in giving some comfort to the bereaved relatives, but crucially in the process of assessing and for transparency.

What a load of political garbage.  It has been many years since Gordon Marsden MP answered anything to do with professional soldiers, veterans or a combination of both.
He is in possession of all the facts surrounding dead veteran Andy Miller, but avoids the family as if they are plagued even though Andy's direct family have two nephews who served 17 and 28 years respectively, a cousin that served 17 years, a nephew that served 22years as an Officer and fighter pilot.  Most of this animosity arose because one member of the family voiced objection to their MP putting his self interest through sexual preference against the facts that their chosen profession (Military Service) had, at that time, laws that prevented the open promotion of that particular bent.

What can  be gained by, and only after being elected, placing on a web site aims to benefit homosexual and lesbian groups?  Had this man courage he would have been open from day one, and most openly homosexual people are both brave and decent company.  Instead they act like bent catholic priests hiding behind the protection of the former Nazi Youth pontiff; I am Lieber so I must be Holy.  That automatically imbecilic attitude means that all our service has been wasted?  Our service meant that we served for all the people and not just a section noisy group with ants in their pants.


If I am wrong Gordon, get some bottle and stand up in Parliament and follow other brave MP's and at least challenge the suspicion of corruption in the handling of a gentle mans' murder.  

Andy was a Veteran, But you have never publicly supported his family.