Harry’s plea: Save my heroes from suicide
PRINCE HARRY has raised serious concerns about the number of British soldiers committing suicide after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Prince confided his fears about a recent surge in suspected suicides in a private letter to a decorated former war hero. His intervention comes as an investigation by The Mail on Sunday reveals veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now taking their own lives at a faster rate than their comrades died on the battlefield.
At least 12 veterans are feared to have killed themselves since the start of the year – one every 13 days. In contrast, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014 were killed in hostile action at a rate of one every 14 days.
Kensington Palace last night confirmed that Harry had expressed concern in a letter sent to Colour Sergeant Trevor Coult, 43, a leading campaigner on veterans’ issues.
C/Sgt Coult, a former non-commissioned officer in the Royal Irish Rangers, was awarded a Military Cross in 2006 for his bravery in an ambush involving suicide bombers and gunmen in Baghdad.
The letter from Kensington Palace requested that C/Sgt Coult gather details about the recent deaths on Prince Harry’s behalf and pass on any information.
Such information is scarce because, unlike the US, the Ministry of Defence does not collect information about the deaths of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Harry, 33, who completed two tours of Afghanistan, also sought C/Sgt Coult’s advice on how military charities could work more effectively to stem the tide of deaths. Since leaving the Army in 2015, the Prince has focused his work on the creation of the Invictus Games and Heads Together, a campaign which seeks to challenge the stigma of mental health problems.
A Kensington Palace source said: ‘Harry follows these issues closely and is always keen to get information from a variety of sources.’ Welcoming the Prince’s intervention, C/Sgt Coult, a father of one from Suffolk, promised to launch a fact-finding mission on his behalf. He said: ‘I’m delighted that Prince Harry has shown an interest at such a critical time.
‘The number of deaths among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans this year is utterly shocking and an indictment of the failure of the Government and military charities to meet their needs. The MoD doesn’t want to know how many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are killing themselves, that’s why it doesn’t collate the information.’
The spate of suspected suicides began with Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt, 39, of the Royal Engineers, who was found hanged on January 2. His death inspired our campaign which led to the MoD setting up the Helpline For Heroes in February.
It has since received hundreds of calls from troops suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues. Before our campaign, officials argued such a helpline would attract 50 calls a year at most.
Welcoming Harry’s involvement, Nathan’s father Derek Hunt said: ‘He knows what it is like to serve on the front line. It is a shocking reflection of the Government there have been so many suicides.’
The MoD said: ‘Any suicide is a tragedy. Help is available for serving personnel and veterans through the 24-hour mental health helplines and we’re spending more than £20 million a year on mental health.’
‘Knows what’s it’s like on the front line’