Leeds army veteran speaks out over campaign to record military personnel suicide figures

War veteran Simon Brown, pictured at his home at Morley, Leeds...26th April 2018 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

The movement to remove stigma surrounding mental health will play a huge part in helping reduce suicide rates among army veterans, according to a former Leeds soldier.

Simon Brown, from Morley, was blinded by sniper fire during a tour of Iraq in 2006 and discharged from the British Army.

He says he still has bad days when it comes to his mental health and that he felt lucky to have a good support network around him - but for others “the demons are too dangerous”.

It comes amid calls for a law change to settle a row at the heart of Government and make monitoring the suicides among military veterans compulsory.

War veteran Simon Brown pictured left in 2001 in Germany. Picture by Simon Hulme

An investigation by JPIMedia Investigations last summer revealed the Government does not monitor how many former service personnel take their own lives, amid fears that the number of cases is spiralling.

Mr Brown said: “There are two sides to the coin. I see why the [Government] would not want these numbers out because it looks bad, but at the same time you can’t say that the reason all people take their own lives is because of military service. But the pressure is difficult. I drank half a bottle of Jack Daniels and cried all night when I left. I felt like I had been kicked out of my family.

“It is a very complex situation. I have lost friends and wish there had been the services there are now. There is more acceptance in society for it to be talked about. The fact that the British public are so understanding and people will fight so we can have a voice, that to me is huge.

“But people still feel the demons are too dangerous and if that is the case, it needs to be recorded - we can’t fix something if we don’t know what the problem is.”

The investigation has now uncovered that the Ministry of Justice claims it is not feasible for coroners to record veteran suicides. The Defence Select Committee is expected to press the Government for progress.