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Mum slams MoD for lack of support
THE mother of the first woman soldier to be killed in Iraq today slammed the Government -branding ministers "thick."
Elsie Manning, from South Shields, accused the Ministry of Defence of failing to support grieving families.
She hit out as it emerged that Gordon Brown has been told he will not be appearing before the Iraq Inquiry until after the general election.
Mrs Manning, whose daughter Staff Sgt Sharron Elliott, 34, died when her boat was blown up near Basra in November 2006, claimed the MoD was not interested.
The 65-year-old, from Horsley Hill, said: "To them, our kids are numbers.
"We went to see Des Browne when he was defence minister, and asked quite a few questions.
"He came out with a stupid quip like, 'Well I don't know anything until I'm told'. I mean, how thick are these people?"
Mrs Manning also believe the parents and siblings of servicemen and women are more or less forgotten.
She said: "After the inquest, some families have heard nothing since."
As well as saying she had been offered no support by the MoD, she said South Shields MP and Foreign Secretary David Miliband has "never once knocked on my door".
But she praised the Army, saying it is always there.
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Weather for South Shields
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
