French honour for D-Day veterans to be speeded up

Hundreds of British D-Day veterans are to receive the French government’s highest honour before the end of the year, a defence minister said.

Mark Lancaster told MPs he understood “hurt and upset” had been caused by months of delays, which occurred after Ministry of Defence officials were caught out by the level of demand for the Legion d’Honneur.

But he said the French authorities had prioritised cases involving former service personnel who are seriously ill and are nearing their 100th birthday.

He added that UK defence and diplomatic staff in London and Paris, and their French counterparts, had improved checks on applications.