There has been a recent cluster of suicides among former British troops who fought in Afghanistan, according to a report.
Some 14 former and serving army personnel are thought to have taken their own lives in the past two months, the Times reported today.
A 'high proportion' of those who have died are said to be veterans of a particular grouping involved in Operation Herrick, Britain's combat mission in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014.
The newspaper did not name the unit, citing UK authorities' fears that publicity could lead to more loss of life among the group.
According to the Times, MP Johnny Mercer said he feared Britain's veterans may have been suffering from a delayed onset of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The minister for veterans, who is himself a former soldier, told the paper he was particularly concerned about recent deaths involving "a specific unit that served at a specific time in Afghanistan... the bloodiest time".
Mr Mercer did not name the unit, but added that he was looking into research around the globe on delayed onset of PTSD, which research suggested could take grip a decade or more after traumatic events took palce.
Mr Mercer said the spate of suicides would bring forward Government plans for new mental health treatments for veterans, which are due to begin next month and complement NHS programmes on issues like PTSD, addiction, and debt, the paper said.
The Sunday People spoke with retired Major Richard Streatfeild, who urged for all war veterans to be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the death of Jamie Davis, 30, this January.
Jamie had been diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Afghanistan and left the army in 2015 to retrain as a stonemason, but had struggled with the memories of the horror he had witnessed, including seeing children killed and comrades badly injured.
Jamie was the first veteran to have died this year, and at the time was recorded as being the 150th former soldier to die by suicide since January 2018.
As well as Jamie, Maj Streatfeild spoke of three colleagues who had died in tragic circumstances.
Captain Gary Case, 50, from Nottinghamshire, took his own life last August just weeks after being awarded an MBE by the Queen.
Rifleman Ross Robinson, 21, from Leeds was killed in a road accident a day after being released from a military rehab centre in April 2010. The soldier was awarded a posthumous Queen’s Gallantry Medal.
A fourth soldier died in 2017 but was not named.
It is not suggested these soldiers are from the same unit referred to by Mr Mercer.
Major Streatfeild, who was awarded an MBE for his service in Afghanistan, called the PTSD crisis among traumatised war veterans a 'scandal' and a 'national failure of care.'
He told the Sunday People he believed defence chiefs were too frightened to screen for PTSD “because of what they might find and the impact it would have on recruitment and retention”.
Last year, the Government said it would give funding to a study examining risk factors in the year leading up to veterans' suicides.
It also said the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) veterans study would be extended to include recent service leavers and would be "updated on an ongoing basis to provide real-time monitoring of suicides".
"Combined, these studies will provide increasingly robust data in order to understand whether suicide in the ex-forces community is disproportionate compared to the rest of the UK general population and will identify potential interventions in order to prevent suicide", the Government has said.
"I want to understand at exactly what stage we could or should have intervened in that process," Mr Mercer told the Times.
Speaking further on the issue on BBC Breakfast this morning, Mr Mercer said: "I am aware that there is a cluster or a spike in these tragic events amongst a very particular cohort from a very particular time in the war in Afghanistan.
"I've got to be honest we're on it every day and want to find out exactly what's going on, why this is happening compared particularly with other countries and just the message that there is help out there. There genuinely is - I wouldn't say it if it wasn't.
"Yes in the past it's been very confusing, very difficult to acccess. We're putting more time, effort and money into the NHS programmes now to meet this demand. There is help out there and I would urge others to speak up and seek that help."
He said the models of mental health care in the UK is changing, and he said he had been pushing for the state to realise its "responsibility" to veterans, saying that it had in the past been driven by charities.
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operates a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org if you'd prefer to write down how you feel. You are not alone.
