The decision by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to bring forward government plans to review the compensation paid to injured armed forces personnel has been welcomed by lawyers.
Last week, the secretary of defence, Bob Ainsworth, cut short his summer holiday in a bid to stem the tide of criticism levelled at his department for a Court of Appeal challenge to sums awarded to two servicemen.
Lance Corporal Anthony Duncan and Marine Matthew McWilliams sustained severe leg injuries in Iraq and during training respectively.
Both won large increases to the initial sum awarded in compensation under the armed forces compensation scheme, after they appealed to a tribunal.
The MoD issued the challenge to seek clarification over the payments made. A judgment is due to be made on that issue in October.
In a bid to quell public disquiet over the case, which followed a sharp increase in the number of deaths of servicemen in the Afghan conflict, Ainsworth announced that a review of the scheme was to be brought forward. “As defence secretary I cannot
