Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham has welcomed an announcement from the Government that in future, for those under the age of 18, the ability to be discharged from the armed forces will be a right.
Alex sat on the Armed Forces Bill Committee earlier in the year where he argued that this change should be brought in so that under 18s no longer have to rely on the discretion of their commanding officer if they want to leave the Armed Forces.
Alex said:
“I knew that the Minister, Andrew Robathan MP, was sympathetic to my argument and I wrote to him after the Committee had discussed the right of discharge to encourage him to make this change.”
“I am delighted that the Minister has delivered on this issue and that under 18s will now, as of right, be able to leave the Armed Forces.”
“My one concern is the caveat that the right is ‘subject to an appropriate period of consideration and cooling off’. I will be asking the Minister exactly what this means and hope it will be made clear in the coming weeks and months.”