Tom Richmond: Why we should all be ashamed of the treatment of Afghanistan war hero Ben Parkinson after 13-year fight

We’re the lucky ones for having a fine man of such fortitude in our midst.

Now 34, he earned this country’s enduring respect when his body was blown apart after his military Land Rover hit an anti-tank mine in Afghanistan 13 years ago.

-> Leeds student arrested during France skiing tripBritain’s most seriously injured veteran, he was told he would not walk again – or regain his speech – after losing both of his legs in a hideous explosion which also caused brain damage and other multiple injuries to his limbs.

Yet what is as jaw-dropping as the Yorkshireman’s recovery and resilience is the fact that he, and his family, have only just won a campaign for a care package that will be worth £24,000 a year.

The agreement, reached with the Ministry of Defence and NHS, provides reassurance to Mr Parkinson – and his family – who had to threaten legal action before coming to a belated agreement which will cover part of their ongoing costs.

What a disgrace. This is a soldier, from Bessacarr, south of Doncaster, who answered his country’s call when political leaders deployed the Armed Forces to Afghanistan.

-> Driver and passengers flee after car crashes into Leeds prisonAnd now the self-same Whitehall establishment has had to be shamed into action, after more than a decade, to do the right thing for Mr Parkinson who is so grateful for the support of his home town.

“I’m also lucky coming from Yorkshire, particularly Doncaster.

“The people have supported me from my first day home. Everywhere I go people talk to me, not like a stranger, but like an old mate. It’s not like that for all the injured guys,” he said.

Yet, while Mr Parkinson’s humanity and heroism are awe-inspiring, I’m afraid he is very unlucky to live in a political era when this country’s leaders are so pre-occupied with Brexit that they have lost sight of their responsibilities to wider society, including the Armed Forces.

I don’t know what made me more frustrated in the past week with the state of Britain in 2019 – the Brexit deadlock, the impasse over social care as pressure grows on hospitals or the scandalous betrayal of Mr Parkinson.

I don’t know what made me more frustrated in the past week with the state of Britain in 2019 – the Brexit deadlock, the impasse over social care as pressure grows on hospitals or the scandalous betrayal of Mr Parkinson.