Diane Dernie, whose son Ben Parkinson had both legs amputated and suffered brain damage in a land mine blast in Afghanistan, voiced her fury at Donald Trump’s disgraceful remark about NATO troops
The mum of a British soldier who suffered horrific injuries in Afghanistan has condemned Donald Trump’s vile outburst – and says Keir Starmer must call him out.
Diane Dernie’s son Ben Parkinson had both legs amputated and suffered a twisted spine and brain damage after the vehicle he was in struck a land mine. She voiced her horror after the US President falsely claimed NATO allies “stayed a little back, off the front line”.
The comment has sparked outrage among veterans, and on Friday Government minister Stephen Kinnock said it was “plainly wrong”.
READ MORE: Donald Trump blasted over vile British troop slur by minister as outrage growsREAD MORE: Nigel Farage’s Reform hypocrisy exposed by letters as turncoat flip-flops on decision
Mrs Dernie told the Press Association: “I can assure you, the Taliban didn’t plant IEDs (improvised explosive devices) miles and miles back from the front line.”
She said the Prime Minister now has “got to stand up for his own armed forces, and he’s got to absolutely refute what Donald Trump said”.
“Call him out,” she said. “Make a stand for those who fought for this country and for our flag, because it’s just beyond belief.
“Come and look at us, the life that Ben leads – 19-and-a-half years on, still fighting for his care, still fighting for him to have a decent life, recovering from a recent operation.
“To hear this man say: ‘Oh, well, you just fannied about behind the front lines’… It’s the ultimate insult.”
She stated: “To say that British troops, NATO forces, were not involved on the front lines – it’s just a childish man trying to deflect from his own actions, and it’s just beyond belief.
“I mean, it is so insulting, it’s so hard to hear. We’d be very interested to see what our own Prime Minister’s response is to this, because this is just disgraceful.”
Mrs Dernie added: “In 2008 General (David) Petraeus, who was head of the American forces, he actually came and met with Ben and with several of the wounded. He gave them all a medal, and he commented what an incredible ally the British forces were and what an amazing job they’d done, and the incredibly high price they’d had to pay.”She said: “For Trump then to come up with this statement is just, it’s insulting.”
A total of 457 British troops lost their lives in Afghanistan. Among them was Rifleman William Aldridge, whose mum Lucy Aldridge told The Mirror the President’s remarks were “extremely upsetting”.
The US president made his comments in an interview with Fox News, saying of NATO: “We’ve never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
The only time Article 5 of the NATO agreement – a mutual defence code that an attack on one member is an attack on all – was invoked was in 2001, after 9/11.
Health miniser Mr Kinnock told Sky News: “It just doesn’t really add up what he said, because the fact of the matter is, the only time that Article 5 has been invoked was to go to the aid of the United States after 9/11, and many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European NATO allies gave their lives in support of American missions, American led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I am incredibly proud of our armed forces. They have put their lives on the line for our country. They are the definition of honour and valour and patriotism. And I think anybody who seeks to to criticise what they have done in the sacrifices that they make, it is plainly wrong.
“And I think the reaction to President Trump’s comments are very clear from right across the political spectrum. And I think the British public feels very strongly about the need to defend our armed forces and to support them in the incredibly important work that they do in the dangerous and turbulent world in which we live.”
Mr Kinnock was asked if Trump had “trashed the legacy” of hundreds of British heroes like Rifleman Aldridge – the youngest soldier to die in Afghanistan. The Labour minister said: “President Trump’s comments are deeply disappointing. There is no other way to say that, I don’t know really why he said them.
“I don’t think there’s any basis for him to make those comments. It’s clear that the mother of that brave soldier is absolutely right when she talks about the sacrifice that her child, the child that she loved so much, made in the interests of our country, in the interests of our own, national security.
“And, there’s a long history of the British armed forces standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States. We will always stand up for the values that we cherish.”
Trump made the vile insult as he continued to pressure NATO allies to grant him greater control over Greenland. Veterans and bereaved families of people who served in Afghanistan were left furious by the remarks, made in a TV interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Furious Labour backbencher Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “How dare this man who’s never seen any action, who somehow or other when there was a draft for everybody else in the United States managed to avoid it, and yet now is commander-in-chief and knows nothing about how it is that America has been defended.
“I mean, seriously, it’s an absolute insult. We have had a very shocking few days.”
Ms Aldridge told the Mirror : “We live the trauma daily for the rest of our lives because of the contribution that our loved ones made. And they were absolutely on the front line.”
Her son died in a bomb blast in 2009, 47 days after his 18th birthday. Ms Aldridge said: “William himself was in Sangin, in Helmand Province. They were patrolling the Pharmacy Road in 2009/2010, which were the worst years for casualties for allied forces because it was the singularly most dangerous place in the world at the time.
“And to ignore that because, let’s face it, Trump isn’t particularly hot on history… He is so out of touch with the reality and what it costs in human life. He has no compassion whatsoever for anyone who doesn’t serve him.”