An SAS veteran has declared his “fight is with the Government” as he called for “more support” for Britain’s service personnel.
Speaking to GB News, Matthew Hellyer told hosts Camilla Tominey and Michael Portillo claimed that money given to military-based charities is “not being spent correctly”.
As the nation marked Remembrance Sunday in a ceremony led by King Charles at the Cenotaph, Mr Hellyer detailed how the work of his charity Pilgrim Bandits helps veterans.
He told GB News: “My charity is not only a military and blue light charity, it helps communities.
SAS veteran Matthew Hellyer has said his fight is ‘with the Government’ as he calls for more support for service personnel
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GB NEWS
“We’re a small charity that punches well above our weight, and we are committed to all of our veterans, communities and blue light services.”
Criticising the Labour Government’s spending of money on military-based charities, Mr Hellyer explained: “The Government gives a huge amount of money to charities, but that money isn’t being spent correctly in my opinion.
“There’s hundreds of millions of pounds that the Government give, doesn’t matter which Government is, they aren’t subjected to give this money, it’s controlled by a group of military charities.
“It needs to be disseminated down to the individuals in need and not given to events or stuff like that.”
He added: “We can look at events once we have cared for all of our veterans, once we’ve taken every veteran off the street.
“Once we’ve made sure every veteran gets the care he deserves, and then we can look at events. The money needs to be spent properly.”
King Charles, Prince William and Prince Edward led the nation at The Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday
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PAAsked by host Michael Portillo what impact being in the SAS had on his life, Mr Hellyer said: “For me, it’s a huge impact. It’s excitement, I loved every minute of it, but it comes with sacrifice.
“And I’ve sacrificed a family over this. I had three children, and unfortunately, one of my boys died two years ago, so I didn’t afford him the time that I think he deserved because I was selfish in supporting and honouring this country. And I thought that was the right thing to do.”
He continued: “But really, looking back, I would like to have spent a bit more time with my family.
“All of our families broke down, the divorce rate is huge and the children suffer a little bit, but that’s because we’re dedicated to this country.
“So I hope that people can see the dedication and commitment all of our armed forces give to this country, and they need to be respected.”
Mr Hellyer told GB News that he wants ‘support from the Government and the public’ for Britain’s veterans
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GB NEWS
Stressing that veterans and service personnel are “giving the Government’s biggest problems to solve”, Mr Hellyer told GB News: “We love it because it’s almost like being part of the England rugby squad, where we have people that you can rely on 100 per cent.
“We are running around, we’re great individuals and the work we get into is extremely complex. So it’s not just physical, it’s absolutely mental as well.
“We get given the Government’s biggest problems to solve, and unfortunately in this day and age, we’re getting persecuted and prosecuted for it.
“So now my fight is not with the enemy, my fight is with the Government at the moment.”
He concluded: “And we are trying to create a group through me and through some great individuals that are supported, like Chris Parry, who comes on this channel, and we’re creating a group that will bring all groups together.
“So we can educate individuals on why we do the things, the rules of engagement, the chain of command, and we want the support of the Government and we want the support off of the public.”