Last push for home

It will come as no surprise that I was not one of those clamouring to bomb Iraq back to the Stone Age. It was an ill conceived, abysmally planned affair based on hidden agendas from start to whenever it happens to finish - which will not be any time soon.

But having lumbered our armed forces with a messy war no one has a chance of winning it would seem only right that we treat them properly when they are dying or maimed in our name. I mention this because the Government has just managed to find £2.7 billion to placate party rebels and cynically attempt to reduce the disaster awaiting them at the by-election at Crewe. This is on top of the billions offered to our hard pressed charitable institutions, the banks.

I mention this because there is scheme to create accommodation at Selly Oak hospital where the families of seriously wounded servicemen can stay to be near their loved ones. Not unreasonable when a son, husband, fiancé or whatever has just had a leg blown off or been liberally ventilated with shrapnel on our behalf.

The cost? A mere £5 million, which is probably about what the Government spends on consultants before breakfast every day. With the Government's contribution to this presumably lost in the post - another of their stunning successes - it has been left to the charity, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association Forces Help to do the spadework.

A similar accommodation unit at the Defence Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey was opened three months ago and the fund still needs just short of a million to fund that and the Selly Oak scheme. If you want to know more or want to help then have a look at http://www.ssafa.org.uk/index.asp