EXCLUSIVE
SCOTS veterans are at the centre of a worrying spike in suicides among ex-soldiers.
Johnny Mercer, the UK minister for veterans, yesterday raised the alarm over a “cluster” of deaths involving 14 former and serving Army personnel who are thought to have killed themselves in the past two months.
And the Record can reveal that there are at least two Scots among them.
Ex-paratrooper Craig Mcmeechan, 27, who studied at Forth Valley College and Stirling High School, died last month.
His friend Joshua Benjamin Bullard described Craig as “a beautiful, kind person and one hell of a character” on a military social media site.
Joshua added: “Men, we are here for each other and we are always willing to listen. You’re never alone.”
Also last month, a Scots veteran being investigated over his actions in Northern Ireland took his own life.
Eddie “Spud” Murphy, of 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers, was injured in an IRA bomb blast during his tour of Ulster. The 50-year-old father of three, originally from Inverness, was found dead by his wife.
Veterans said he was being investigated by police in Northern Ireland and the threat of prosecution had left him “stressed”. His death came as four veterans were interviewed over deaths during the Troubles.
Mercer said “a high proportion” of the recent suicide victims were veterans involved in Operation Herrick, the UK’s combat mission in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014.
He added he was particularly concerned about deaths involving “a
BY STEPHEN STEWART specific unit that served at a specific time in Afghanistan – the bloodiest time”.
The minister, 38, who is a former Army officer, said the spate of suicides would bring forward Government plans for new mental health treatments for veterans, which are due to begin next month and complement NHS programmes on posttraumatic stress disorder, addiction and debt.
The Daily Record revealed in August 2018 how six soldiers took their own lives in just over a week.
Following our previous stories highlighting the issue, the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence said they would finally collate veterans’ suicide rates.
Northern Ireland and Iraq veteran Cammy MacLeod, who runs forces charity Who Dares Cares, said: “Enough is enough.
“This is a human and social disaster. People do their bit for the country but the country doesn’t pay back to them.
“For the Government to just say they will now sit and count the number of deaths is nowhere near a solution.”
He added that a “comprehensive long-term approach” was needed to address the problem.