Gideon Amos

I first heard of the “999 Injured and Forgotten” campaign and the enormous work Tom Curry has been doing to campaign for an award for those injured in service from constituents of mine. One of the constituents was a police officer who served for 27 years and suffered spinal injuries on two occasions. On the second occasion, he had spinal dislocation and was paralysed, but in a year’s time, he went back to work. Shortly afterwards, he had to attend a fatal air crash and then had to retire due to further injuries sustained as a result of attending that incident. People like him deserve recognition and an injury in service medal. Another constituent who has come to me about this is my colleague and councillor, Simon Coles, the Liberal Democrat chair of the Devon and Somerset fire and rescue authority. He said: “Gallant firefighters risk their lives daily in the service of their communities. When you’re having the worst day of your life, it is a normal day at work for our firefighters. They deserve the recognition these awards would confer on them. All our communities would approve of such recognition.” I urge the Minister and the House to make sure that this long overdue campaign reaches a triumphal conclusion and that those who are injured in service are properly recognised with the medal that they deserve.