The Government's admission that it is "technically and logistically feasible" to operate a free postal service for Britain's armed forces must have come as very encouraging news for Mrs Karen Webster, the mother of a Bingley soldier who served with the Desert Rats in Iraq.
Mrs Webster has called repeatedly for the Government to reintroduce a free postal service similar to the one which operated during the Gulf War. The service actually existed for troops in Iraq until 2004, when the concession was shelved other than for a free postal service in the run-up to Christmas.
Mrs Webster's suggestion of an allowance of two parcels per month, within a certain weight and operated under a voucher system, seems wholly reasonable. Our forces deserve it. It is bad enough that they are risking their lives in various parts of the world, and particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are reportedly overstretched and under-equipped. We surely should not expect their families to have to pay postage on those letters and little treats they send them to help to boost morale and make life a bit easier.
Now Defence Minister Adam Ingram has accepted that the move is possible and says his staff are looking at sources of finding the necessary £2 million a year which will not involve biting into the funding for the Operation Welfare package.
Let's hope that his encouraging interim response is soon turned into a definite victory for the persuasive powers of Mrs Webster and her determined fellow campaigners.
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