Defence Minister Andrew Robathan should be sacked over his insult to the heroes of the Arctic Convoys, veterans said last night.He sparked anger by comparing the Second World War veterans' claim for a medal to the large number of honours 'thrown around' by Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi and Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein.
The beleaguered minister made the disparaging remarks after Tory MP Caroline Dinenage urged the Government to keep its pre-election pledge to honour the sacrifice by striking a specific Arctic Medal.
Yesterday even his boss, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, distanced himself from the comments.
He told the Commons' defence select committee: 'I don't think he intended to cause any offence but there was an unfortunate juxtaposition of words.
'The role of the Arctic convoys is well known and if any offence has been caused I deeply regret that.'
More than 3,000 British sailors died on the convoys to keep the Soviet Union supplied and fighting on the Eastern Front. They braved treacherous freezing seas and ran a deadly gauntlet of Nazi U-boats and warplanes.
Of 1,400 ships on 78 convoys – described by Winston Churchill as 'the worst journey in the world' – 101 perished in the icy waters north of Norway.
Veterans Minister Mr Robathan, a former soldier who was awarded a medal for running a prisoner-of-war camp in the first Gulf War, faced a clamour of demands for his resignation after likening the Arctic medal campaign to notorious authoritarian regimes which handed out so many medals it diminished their worth.
He said: 'Medals in the UK mean something. Authoritarian regimes and dictators often throw around a lot of medals.
'One can look, for instance, at North Korean generals who are covered in medal ribbon, or Gaddafi, or Saddam Hussein. We have taken the view in this country, traditionally, that medals will only be awarded for campaigns that show risk and rigour. Some regimes give out very large numbers of medals whereas we, traditionally, do not.'
But Commander Eddie Grenfell, 91, the leader of the Arctic Medal campaign, said: 'He cannot get away with the fact he said those dreadful things about the Arctic veterans. The man should be sacked from his job.
'He has failed in his duty. He is not the veterans minister; he is the minister against veterans.'
Falklands veteran Simon Weston said: 'The minister should think long and hard about resigning over this terrible insult. It was a cheap shot.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2071419/Tory-minister-insults-WW2-Arctic-convoy-heroes-We-dont-dole-medals-like-Colonel-Gaddafi.html#ixzz1fvpFCBIn
And there's more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2071178/Award-Arctic-convoy-veterans-medal--set-Andrew-Robathan-s-ministerial-career-adrift-cold-sea.html
