Demands for law change to make monitoring suicide rates of military veterans compulsory

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

Allied nations like the US, Australia and Canada all record the number of veteran suicides closely, having found significant increases in the past decade.

Campaigners say official UK figures are now also vital to help traumatised war heroes.

Since we highlighted the issue Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood announced the Government would begin a study into suicide rates among veterans who previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also said in November that it was his ambition “to understand from every coroner whether an individual death is a veteran or not”.

However, JPIMedia Investigations can now reveal a row at the heart of Government over the issue, with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) claiming it is not feasible for coroners to record veteran suicides.

MPs on the Defence Select Committee have also been keenly pursuing the issue of military mental health, publishing their first report last July. It recommended that the Ministry of Defence work with the justice departments across the four UK nations to work out from existing suicide records whether someone had been a veteran.

A second report by the committee, due to be published on Monday, is expected to further press the Government for progress.

Jeff Williams, a former Royal Marine Sergeant Major and campaigner with the Birmingham-based group Veterans Against Suicide, told JPI that he is “devastated” to hear that the MoJ has ruled out support from coroners.

He said: “I am not surprised but I am pretty devastated because a lot of people in the veterans community have hung their hats on this happening.

“We were under the impression that this was in the late stages of being implemented and it wasn’t going to be a problem.”

His group has recorded the suspected suicide of five veterans and four serving members of the forces so far this year, with 80 former and current service personnel believed to have taken their lives in 2018.

It should be straightforward for coroners to ask families if their loved ones were veterans, he said.

His organisation can verify “with one phone call” whether someone was a veteran or not.

“This is just a cop-out in my opinion,” he said.

Dr Walter Busuttil, medical director of national veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress, said it is now up to MPs to step in and make it a statutory responsibility on coroners to record veteran suicides.

“If they want to record things properly then they are going to have to change the law,” he said.

He said it sounded a viable idea for coroners’ IT systems to be linked to MoD pension records, to verify if someone was a veteran.

“There are precedents, it can be done,” he said.

However, the MoJ said it was too complex for coroners to record veteran suicides, in particular because of the potential difficulties of accurately establishing a victim’s occupational history.

“For this reason, there are no plans to require coroners to record this kind of information in the context of suicide conclusions,” a spokesperson said.

The MoD is considering how to respond to the setback.

An MoD spokeswoman replied: “We take the well-being of all those who have served extremely seriously and we are currently considering how we can better understand the cohort of veterans who take their own lives.”

Last week Mr Ellwood, a former Royal Green Jackets Captain, offered a public apology to the grieving families of veterans and serving personnel who took their lives this year and last, vowing to fight on in addressing the issue.

Star of TV’s Hunted says UK is failing its veterans

By Michael Holmes and Tom Cotterill

A TV ‘hunter’ who served two tours of Iraq with the army said the UK is failing troops left feeling suicidal after serving their country.

Jordan Wylie (35) who is now a best-selling author and chases fugitive contestants on Channel Four’s reality show Hunted, saw several friends killed while serving with the King’s Royal Hussars and was later diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.

He said: “For me, we are failing our own people. We are failing the British troops that have served this great nation. It is an absolute tragedy that veteran suicides are happening.”

Jordan said he can empathise with veterans who “feel there is no way out”, and called on people to be more open about their mental health.

Though Jordan, from Blackpool, Lancashire, said his mental health issues came after the breakdown of a personal relationship, he said opening up about the horrors of war helped him cope with what he saw.

“I went to very low places and I can empathise with people who thinks there’s no way out,” he said.

“A problem shared is a problem halved. I found two things helped. One was talking to people and sharing my thoughts and challenges; I found talking to other soldiers was a good way to deal with things.

“But, also, I found exercise helped. I like to go running on my own.”

Jordan, who went on to work in private security, battling Somalian pirates, and has completed a number of high profile charity adventures, including a marathon through Afghanistan, said he keeps the memories of eight fallen comrades alive whenever he gives talks and that war taught him how precious life is.

He said: “I believe in a theory of post-traumatic strength. I think the things I saw and experienced made me a better person.

“I value relationships better, and respect people more, and I respect the concept of life more. I have lost friends who would give anything to have another day on Earth.

“A lot of my friends won’t talk about it and lock it away. They see it as a negative but I see a lot of things as negative experiences I can take positives from.”

He continued: “I say to people, when I talk on mental health issues, that everybody has a bit of depression and anxiety in them. Some people talk about it and manage it; it eats other people up.

“Mental health in general still has a lot of stigma attached to it. Blokes want to appear tough and hard, but when they are alone and in their headspace, the demons come out.”

Jordan, who now lives in Hampshire, also said he was “pigeonholed” into a diagnosis of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) by the NHS, and called for a change in narrative, saying the word ‘disorder’ should be dropped entirely and that stress is a “normal reaction” for soldiers who see their “friends blown up and put in body bags”.

Where to get help

If you are affected by any of the issues raised by this article, help and advice is available from these organisations:

Veterans Gateway: 0808 802 1212 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Veterans UK: 0808 1914218 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)

NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/nhs-mental-health-services-for-veterans/

Samaritans: 116 123 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Combat Stress: 0800 138 1619 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Help for Heroes: 01980 844280 (weekdays, between 9am and 5pm

Royal British Legion: 0808 802 8080 (8am to 8pm, 7 days a week)