£180,000 – the amount of money Bristol City Council will pay their new Chief Executive, career bureaucrat Jan Ormondroyd – who’s never had to take a risk in her life – EVERY YEAR until she chooses to pack it in to pick up her lucrative pension. For this money Ms Ormondroyd has to sit in a plush office far away from any danger and has not, so far, been required to make any concrete commitment or guarantee to produce or deliver anything specific whatsoever.
£152,150 – the derisory amount of money offered by the MOD as compensation in order to keep him THE REST OF HIS LIFE to 23-year-old Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson who sustained 37 injuries including brain damage and losing both legs after a landmine exploded under his vehicle in Iraq. Ben’s family have to be committed to looking after him for the rest of his life on this paltry sum of money.
Ben was also the only wounded soldier in his hospital not to meet Tony Blair, who was eventually shamed into visiting his war wounded, because MOD officials believed Ben’s mum, Diane Dernie, might “embarrass” Mr Blair.
Unlike Blair, Brown or their cabinets full of pygmies Ms Dernie is in fact a model of dignity, integrity and grace in seeking justice and respect for her son.
Regardless of your view on the Iraq war, we should all hang our heads in shame at this family’s treatment by the gang of unscrupulous, self-serving scumbags occupying the Labour Party and running the country.
Welcome to Gordon Brown’s Britain – a country fit for public sector fat cats.
It’s hardly all Gordon Brown’s fault, though, is it? Remember Maggie & the cripple-free Falklands victory ceremony.
Soldiers have been getting shat on as long as there have been wars.
No, it might not be Gordon’s fault but he’s the one who at some stage is looking to be elected PM.
His government must do right for Ben Parkinson and other people who’ve been injured whilst serving our country.
We’re sick of politicians taking time to give themselves pay rises and better pensions whilst not delivering services and losing our data.
Just this last week they lost all the data of learner drivers. They only apologised because they couldn’t keep it hushed up.
My heart goes out to Ben Parkinson and his parents – they let their son go to war because they believed in this country and that this country does the right thing; and the country (whilst Gordon leads it) has shown that it wasn’t worthy and doesn’t do the right thing… unless you’re a politician or a bureaucrat and then it’s a gold mine.