Service personnel who took part in the evacuation of Afghanistan should be honoured with medals according to Metro Mayor Dan Norris.
More than 1,000 UK personnel took part in Operation Pitting, which airlifted 15,000 people fleeing oppression and persecution to safety as the country fell to the Taliban.
The mission was the largest of its kind since the Second World War and Labour has said that this ‘astonishing feat’ deserves formal recognition.
However under existing criteria, troops would not receive medals as the mission did not meet the 30-days continuous service for which they are awarded.
Mr Norris has dismissed this as an ‘arbitrary timeframe’ and said that the criteria for medallic recognition needed to shift to reflect the changing nature of conflicts that our armed forces are involved in.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said:
“We need to thank our brave armed forces for their service. This was a difficult and dangerous mission and those involved deserve formal recognition.
“There is no excuse for government ministers to get bogged down in bureaucracy on this, they should act quickly to honour the heroic efforts of our service personnel with medals.”