TRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Wootton Bassett on Friday 29^th January to thank the people of the town for the way in which they support our armed forces by paying respects to our fallen servicemen.

Speaking after the event, James said, "it was a unique honour for the town to see Their Royal Highnesses wander down the High Street, stopping off for a drink in the Cross Keys which has done such great work supporting the bereaved families, and then dropping into the Conservative Club to chat to so many local people. The whole event was very much in the spirit of Wootton Bassett - no ceremony, no pomposity. Just two very special Royals quietly thanking the people of Wootton Bassett for what they do so well.

 

Monday 4^th January

I strongly support the great British respect for free speech and the right to protest – after all, that's one of the things our soldiers have fought and died for in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is essential that Anjem Choudary should be allowed to express his views – even if they seem to me and, I think, to most people, including much of the moderate Muslim community, almost as eccentric and obnoxious as those of Nick Griffin and the BNP at the opposite end of the spectrum. He must be allowed to speak if he wants to.

But he must not be allowed to do so in Wootton Bassett. Our repatriation ceremonies – and I have attended perhaps two thirds of them – are absolutely apolitical. No comment is made about the war, either in favour or against. We simply turn out in all weathers, and often twice a week, to pay our respects to soldiers who have fallen in service of Queen and country. That's why we are so opposed to the proposed Islam4UK's march – it would be hijacking our quiet, simple ceremonies for political purposes.

I have always advised David Cameron, for example, against coming, as his presence might be thought to be "political". A number of MPs have attended alongside me on various occasions, but always incognito – in the crowds beside the mayor and Royal British Legion. The prime minister, I fear, might be almost as unwelcome as Mr Choudary.

The importance and strength of what the people of Wootton Bassett do is that they stand on behalf of the nation and of so many people around the world in silent tribute to the heroism of the fallen. The hearses stop for a moment as the old bell of St Bartholomew's tolls, the families say their personal farewells, and the entourage glides on to Oxford. Its beauty and its strength lie in its non-political simplicity.

Anjem Choudary and his supporters can say whatever they want on the media – and perhaps the threat of the march alone has achieved that through wall-to-wall media coverage without the march itself having to take place. They can have their protests wherever they want to, and I strongly recommend Parliament Square to them. But they must not be allowed to sully the purity of the quietly respectful ceremonies of the good people of Wootton Bassett.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/04/wootton-bassett-anjem-choudary

 

James Gray MP on Wootton Bassett repatriations

“The people of Wootton Bassett who turn out in rain or shine, week in week out, to honour our fallen service men, and I have been glad to be there for most of the repatriations, do so out of respect for those who have been killed in service of their Queen and Country and obeying orders from their officers and ultimately from Parliament. It is my experience that those who stand with me down the High Street are expressing really no political view on the war at all, either in favour or against,” said North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

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Wednesday 23^rd September

“The tragic regularity of the return of the bodies of our servicemen and women through Wootton Bassett must sometimes lead even the most committed of us to ask ‘Why?’” said North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

“It seems to me that Labour have been guilty of three fundamental errors in our Afghan Campaign. First, they are too scared to admit why we are there - to kill the Queen’s enemy - and have preferred to muddy the waters with softer-sounding mission statements about female education, infrastructure improvements, poppy eradication and democracy. Second, this has led to the worst kind of ‘mission creep’ and muddle over our soldiers’ real objectives; and third, of course, they have failed to provide the resources necessary for that mission.”

In an article published in the current edition of World Defence Systems, Mr Gray has expanded on these arguments.

How to “Win” In Afghanistan? (And How to Persuade a Sceptical Public) by James Gray

North Wiltshire MP James Gray has called for the war memorial, which is currently at Camp Bastion, to be moved to Wootton Bassett High Street when the camp finally closes, as a way of recognising the way the town pays its respects to repatriated bodies of our fallen servicemen.

During Tuesday’s debate on Armed Forces Veterans, Mr Gray said, “there is talk of returning the magnificent and beautiful war memorial at Camp Bastion to the UK when the camp finally closes. The memorial consists of stones from the desert, topped with a cross made of spent cartridges from heavy machine guns. It is a superb war memorial, and there has been some discussion about where it might go in the UK. Given that it carries the names of those whose bodies have been carried through Wootton Bassett, the high street might be a suitable location, in the long term. That might be a way of recognising the town’s mark of respect.”

After the debate Mr Gray wrote to the Minister repeating the request.

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“Let me pay tribute to the people of Wootton Bassett who - week in, week out, and often two or three times a week - turn out in their hundreds along the High street to pay tribute to the coffins that are flown back through RAF Lyneham in my constituency,” said North Wiltshire MP James Gray during the debate on Iraq yesterday. 

“What a superb job the people of Wootton Bassett do. I wish that more people across this nation and across the world paid that sort of tribute to the services that our armed forces give to all of us.”

Mr Gray abstained from the Commons vote on the original Iraq invasion, at a time when he was junior Shadow Defence Minister, because he was strongly against the war.  “Despite fundamental opposition to the war at the time, I welcome the fact that we've got rid of this vile dictator Saddam Hussein, which is of course greatly to the benefit both to the people of Iraq and for people of the world.  There's no question about it - the Iraq that we have today is vastly better than the Iraq we had 10 years ago.” 

Read on to see the full text of Mr Gray's speech.

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