Our response to Diane Abbott's tweet

This morning a tweet from Labour MP Diane Abbott suggested that Lt Gen David Leakey, who has claimed former Speaker of the Commons John Bercow "brutalised" staff, could not have felt intimidated or bullied by Mr Bercow because he served in the military. We are extremely disappointed by Ms Abbott's tweet and have issued the following statement to the media:

Wing Commander Dr Walter Busuttil RAF (Retd), Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Director at Combat Stress, said:

“At a time when we are seeking urgent funding from the government to protect services for veterans with mental health needs, we are very disappointed that an MP suggests that a veteran cannot be bullied or intimidated.

“The Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces has published a report on bullying in the military. At Combat Stress we commonly see veterans who have mental health problems due to being bullied in the military or even after their service. They are trained to respect and follow their leaders and take the words and deeds of those in command seriously. So, when they believe that those in charge have stepped out of line, there’s usually a larger than expected impact.

“I welcome the opportunity to discuss veterans’ mental health in greater detail with Ms Abbott to engender compassion and empathy from her towards the veteran community.”