The MOD’s funding for a trial of life-changing surgery for amputees is highlighted in today's Defence news, alongside continued coverage of the Army’s assistance to flood clean-up efforts.
DIRECT SKELETAL FIXATION
The Independent on Sunday carries a feature on the MOD funding a £2m trial into direct skeletal fixation, or osseointegration. The story details the nature of the technique, which does away with the need for traditional prosthetics as a titanium implant is fitted directly into the bone and an artificial leg connected to it. It carries quotes from the commanding officer at Headley Court, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans, Mark Lancaster, and a spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham, which is involved in delivering the procedure. Read more about the MOD’s funding the trial of life-changing surgery for amputees here.
“MARINE A”
The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to the legal team representing jailed Royal Marine Sgt Alexander Blackman, who says they are increasingly confident of overturning the murder conviction after Blackman shot a Taliban insurgent in 2011. The MOD’s full statement on this:
The Ministry of Defence followed and supported the legal process throughout this case. This involved a full criminal investigation and a court martial where witnesses were called by both the independent Service Prosecution Authority and defence counsel. We respect the authority and decision of the court and would, of course, co-operate fully with any future legal process.
REYAAD KHAN
The Sunday Express claims that British jihadi Reyaad Khan, killed in an RAF drone strike, had been plotting a Paris-style massacre on the streets of London. The Prime Minister’s announced in September that two British ISIL jihadists, Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin, who died in Syria, were killed by an RAF airstrike.Read the MOD's blog at the time, which included Defence Secretary Michael Fallon's comment:
Action like this has to be necessary, it has to be proportionate, and it has to be based on the right of any country to defend itself against an armed attack that’s being planned against it.
These were terrorists who had been planning a series of attacks on the streets of our country, some involving public events. There are other terrorists making similar plans and we have to do what we can to keep our streets safe.
FLOOD SUPPORT
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the county’s rural communities affected by recent flooding. After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St John’s in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance. The Infantrymen have been using four-wheel drive vehicles to battle through the snow now settling on many of the Lake District’s roads.
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