Abused UK airmen told not to wear uniform in town
By Peter Griffiths
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Military personnel at an east England airbase have been told not to wear uniform in public because some have been insulted and abused over Britain's role in the Iraq and Afghan wars, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Reports of the abuse prompted the commander of the Royal Air Force base in Wittering to order staff to wear civilian clothes when they visit the nearby city of Peterborough.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned those responsible for the abuse and praised Britain's armed forces. "They should be thanked for the great job that they're doing, and they should be encouraged to wear the uniform in public," he told reporters.
Defence Minister Derek Twigg told BBC radio a "small minority of people" had abused uniformed personnel.
No details of the incidents which prompted the ban were released. Cambridgeshire police said they had received no reports of abuse against air force personnel.
British newspapers said the insults were related to Britain's role in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The government's decision to take part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was extremely unpopular, and many Britons are opposed to the continued presence there of several thousand British soldiers.
British troops are used to having a lower profile at home than other countries' armed forces. For decades, they did not wear uniforms in public at home for fear they might be attacked by guerrillas fighting British rule over Northern Ireland. Security officials say that ban is no longer needed.
The government and some military commanders have expressed frustration at the lack of respect shown to British soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, especially compared with allies like the United States.
"It is a great shame that some individuals in this community don't respect our forces," said Defence Secretary Des Browne.
Defence expert Tim Ripley said British troops were used to having a low profile at home, as Britain is an island nation that has fought most of its battles abroad.
"The idea that you walk out on the street and go into a pub and people buy you a drink because you're in uniform, that never happened here," he said. "It is not part of the British tradition over the past century that we get excited about our 'heroic armed forces'. It's not America." (Additional reporting by Peter Graff; editing by Tim Pearce)
