British Legion boss clashes with minister on overseas operations bill

Head of charity in standoff with Johnny Mercer over legislation's treatment of military veterans

The boss of the Royal British Legion became embroiled in a public standoff with a junior defence minister this week after warning that the overseas operations bill breached a commitment to treat veterans fairly.

Charles Byrne, the director general of the poppy appeal charity, was speaking out against one aspect of the bill, which proposes a six-year deadline for civil claims to be brought against the Ministry of Defence.