Mr BLAIR & Mr BROWN: HOW MANY WOUNDED SOLDIERS ?

When politicians want to explain something, they manage to pull out of their hats all the statistics imaginable to support their proposed course of action.

When politicians do not want to talk about something, they just say that the figures necessary for a reply are not available. They do not then say "I'll ask one of our thousands of government employees to prepare a reply".

The Queen's soldiers, for example, are regularly highlighted in reports when they fall in action !!! When they are killed they enter into the statistics of the "dead in action". As far as I am aware, as a member of the public, this is the only statistic which is regularly reported on and updated.

What I want to know is how many soldiers have been wounded in battle, in Afghanistan, Irak and elsewhere since the New Labour Party was elected. Some injuries have been horrific; now and again one sees reports in the newspapers. Some injuries are less spectacular and because of this are not commented on in the press. Again, some injuries are, happily, forgotten because they were minor.

I can understand that the Government does not like Questions on the cost of these wounded soldiers. However, such statistics must be available even if they are not published. How can you run a company or a country without knowing where costs paid, come from ?

Soldiers invalided out of Army Service are provided for. This is all part of their "contract" to fight for our Nation. Are these costs conveniently lost in the cost of National Pensions, or in the National Health costs ? Are these costs so anonymous because politicians do not want to really know ?

Electors and taxpayers want answers to these Questions. How many wounded soldiers are there, long term, medium term and short term ? Where are the costs, how much ? What are the costs of widows' pensions?

The only statistic regularly published, the number of dead, does not even reveal the number of broken hearts behind the information !!! The parents, the siblings, the widows and the children.......