Medal remark branded ‘insult’
Scottish veterans of an undeclared,
10-year guerrilla war which claimed 519 British lives reacted angrily yesterday
to a Ministry of Defence official's description of their campaign medals as
"souvenirs and keepsakes".
Almost 100 of the
UK dead in
the Malayan "emergency" in the 1950s and 1960s were from Scottish regiments. The
comment, over the Pingat Jasa Malaysia decoration offered by the Malaysian
government, was made by Richard Coney, a senior MoD spokesman, in reply to a
question about the ban on wearing foreign military awards at Remembrance
parades.
He wrote: "The Queen has granted permission for British
citizens to accept the medal, but as a souvenir and keepsake only and not for
wear. There is no right of appeal." Andrew Nicoll, a former KOSB officer
eligible for the PJM, described the comment as "impudent and insulting" and was
joined by a number of other incensed veterans.
Last night Mr Coney said: "The medal is not a trinket
and I would never refer to it as such. However, the fact remains that the medal
has not been authorised for wear."