MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands hero attacks “absurd” compensation claims.

The former Welsh Guardsman, Simon Weston, severely burned when Argentine aircraft set ablaze the troop transport ship Sir Galahad in the Falklands War, has launched a strong attack on police officers and others “pre-occupied in our claim and blame society with asserting their ?right' to compensation for every grievance real or imaginary”.

He asks: "Could it be that a number of people nowadays in the uniformed services are motivated by greed rather than duty and are simply looking for a way of making a quick buck?"

In a newspaper article in the Daily Mail, he writes that he learned "with utter incredulity .. that a soldier had received £387,000 for ?negligent treatment for warts' from the Ministry of Defence", whose compensation payments, he says, stand at an amazing 97-million pounds a year, four times what they were in 1993.

He contrasts this with his own experience. "The only reason I was on the Sir Galahad when it was attacked", he says, "was because I had chosen to make the army my career. Today we know that one reason why the ship suffered the devastating assault in which I was so badly burned was that the plans for an amphibious landing on the occupied (Falkland) islands were flawed. Mistakes meant that 47 men were killed and 97 injured ".

Four years in hospital ; 75 major operations

Simon Weston spent four years in hospital and had more than 75 major operations. "Of course", he says, "I was angry about the honest errors by senior officers which led ultimately to my injuries. But I determined early on that I was not going to bear grudges and let hatred ruin the rest of my life. I also determined that I did not expect or want massive compensation for the harm that was done to me. I was grateful for aid I received from the South Atlantic Fund, but that was money collected voluntarily by the British people to support those who had fought in the Falklands and who needed help.

"The reason that I did not want to profit from my injuries was that I felt that it would be dishonest to do so. I knew that horrendous errors are inevitable in war, and strategies are often adopted which do not pay off. In my opinion, you should not seek compensation unless there is clear evidence of gross incompetence or dangerous negligence".

He says he did not sue for compensation not because he wanted to be portrayed as a hero but because he believed the risk of injury was part of the package that went with the uniform. Wearing that uniform signifies a willingness to risk all for the good of society".

Simon Weston argues that legal