Meeting MinVP
- Invisible Enemy
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Representatives of LABRATS met with the Minister for Veterans & People, Calvin Bailey, on August 10th.
Who is Calvin Bailey?
Calvin has recently been appointed to the role and was responsible for publishing the missing records review just before the summer recess.
He spent 24 years in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Wing Commander and earning an MBE for his work.
He was present at the Afghanistan evacuation and has led many humanitarian efforts and operations in conflict zones.
His MBE was awarded for his support of relief operations in Haiti and the Philippines.
He serves on the Defence Select Committee and is committed to championing diversity, supporting veterans and empowering young people.
This meeting was one of our regular monthly meetings, in which frank discussions can be held. Representatives from the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) and Number 10 were also present on the Zoom call.
The meeting was disappointing; whilst progress is being made, it is extremely slow. We expressed our frustrations with Calvin on the following points:
Written Statement
During discussions with the Office for Veterans' Affairs, we insisted that the announcement should be an oral statement to Parliament; this was discussed with Calvin's predecessor at length and with the senior officials at the OVA. Despite these discussions, the statement was deposited as a written statement with accompanying documentation, which meant that he did not need to answer questions from other MP's. There were many mitigating factors for this, but we were disappointed that after 7 months' work, he made that decision.
We also expressed our frustration that the statement was made 1 hour before the Argentina vs England game at the World Cup. It had also been agreed that we would see the statement before publication, but we did not see it.
Recommendations
We asked when the recommendations that accompany the report would be published; he would not commit to a date, stating that the 'PM had been on holiday and the Defence Secretary was on holiday', so no decisions could be made.
He did inform us that 'Legal and Political Advice' had been sent to the Defence Secretary and that it was currently at the decision stage, so he could not comment further as there were legal proceedings ongoing.
Questions relating to the Missing Medical Records report
During the reading of the missing medical records report, we asked over 20 questions; these were logged by the OVA officials, but we have still not received a response.
These questions are essential for the community, but 5 weeks later, they remain unanswered.
Legal Proceedings
We questioned the terminology used by the Minister, as there are no official legal proceedings, and some of the recommendations from the report can easily be achieved, such as memorialisation and education.
Feedback
The Minister asked us for feedback from the community, which many of you have completed. The first 76 have been sent to him, so he can understand the unique community and the sense of injustice we are all still feeling. We will pass on further comments, so it is not too late to leave a comment on our website. Please click the button below and make your thoughts known (scroll to the bottom of the page that appears).
Invitation to the All-Tests Reunion
We formally invited Calvin to the All-Tests Reunion in September, so he could meet with the community. He has visited lots of veteran organisations; will he be the first Veterans' Minister to attend in 40 years?
Steve Purse Vlog
Steve Purse was present at the meeting and shared his thoughts in a vlog this week. You can watch it here:
Conclusion
We had hoped for more progress, and finding more excuses from yet another Veterans' Minister was disappointing. He is very active on social media, especially X, but he did not publish any details of our meeting; he admitted this was a mistake and asked if we had received the official photograph. We hadn't, and they still haven't sent it to us a week later.
We find it incredibly disappointing that there is more delay; nothing is moving forward because Ministers are on holiday. As Steve says, illness and death do not take holidays, yet the MOD continues to delay.
We are meeting with Number 10 officials this week to further our cause. We need to take this out of the hands of the MOD. Andy Burnham needs to take full control of it, agree to the terms of the special tribunal and move things forward.
If you want to show your support, please sign the petition by clicking the button below:
Thank you for your continued support. We continue to push for truth and justice.
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