Veterans Minister vows to deliver for ex-personnel as role goes back to MOD

Veterans Minister Al Carns has given an assurance that ex-servicemen and women will not be disadvantaged due to the Government's decision to remove the role from cabinet meetings. 

Under the last government, the veterans minister attended cabinet and the work of his office sat external to the business of the Ministry of Defence.

When Sir Keir Starmer appointed Mr Carns, a Military Cross-holder with more than two decades of military service under his belt, as veterans minister just days after winning the election, he moved the role back within the MOD, effectively returning the job to a junior ministerial position within the department.

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Speaking to Forces News, the minister said veterans should not be concerned that the position is no longer a standalone ministerial appointment, adding it's a role "that's best sat in defence".

The minister said: "The veterans role isn't just about veterans, it's about veterans and people.

"It's an end-to-end process; when you sign up, when you serve and when you leave.

"And that's what defence delivers, so it's best sat in defence."

Under the previous government, Mr Carns' predecessor as veterans minister, Johnny Mercer, attended cabinet and led the Office for Veterans' Affairs from within the cabinet office – outside of the MOD.

It has now been confirmed that the Office for Veterans' Affairs and Mr Carns' role as minister fall fully within defence.

Pushed on whether the MOD could be accused of marking its own homework on veterans, the minister said: "Of course not.

"I'm a veteran of 24 years. There's no way I'm going to allow the veterans to get, in any way, shape or form, disadvantaged, and John Healey, the Defence Secretary, is absolutely supportive of that."

Mr Carns was elected as the new MP for Birmingham Selly Oak in the election and announced as Minister for Veterans and People just days later. 

He previously served in the Royal Marines, achieving the rank of full colonel, was awarded a Military Cross in 2011 for gallant and distinguished service in Afghanistan, and only left the Armed Forces so he could stand as a candidate.