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Greg Mulholland seeks update from minister on war widows campaign

by Steve Beasant on 30 June, 2016

War Widow protestLiberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West Greg Mulholland pressed defence minister Mark Lancaster for an update on the campaign to restore war widow pensions.

It follows both the protest outside Parliament and the meeting with Mr Lancaster, which happened earlier this month. The campaign, run in conjunction with the Wharfedale and Aireborough Observer, seeks to win back compensation for women widowed between 1973 and 2005, who were forced to give up their compensation upon remarrying.

At the meeting, attended by constituents Susan and David Rimmer, with Susan having lost her war widow pension following her marriage to David, the minister agreed to look into the matter with a view to finding a satisfactory solution.

Speaking on Tuesday in the House of Commons, Greg said:

“I thank the veterans Minister for taking account of the plight of war widows who have been penalised for remarrying. Can he give us some idea of how long his review of the matter will take?”

Mark Lancaster responded that he hoped to report back to Greg as soon as he could.

Commenting, Greg said:

“We had a useful meeting with the minister and I welcome that he is looking into the matter. I look forward to hearing from him soon on the work that he is doing on this issue. We must restore the war widow pensions that were unjustly taken away from so many women. The sooner we can overturn this injustice, the better.”

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