British minister says he was wrong on Afghan veterans taking their own life

LONDON (Reuters) – A British junior defence minister said on Monday that he was wrong when he said that some former British soldiers had taken their own lives due to anger over the U.S.-led withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Actually the thing I was referring to was inaccurate,” James Heappey, a junior defence minister, told BBC TV. “We’re looking very, very carefully at whether or not it is true that someone has taken their life in the last few days.” Heappey earlier told Sky News that some British military veterans from the Afghan war had taken their own lives because they were so devastated by the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the country and the victory of the Taliban.

A spokesman for Britain’s defence ministry denied that veterans had taken their own lives due to the withdrawal.