MoD troop surveillance 'insulting'

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The MoD admitted it used surveillance tactics to investigate potentially fraudulent claims and since April 2000, 284 compensation claims - less than 1% of those brought against the MoD - have been the subject of surveillance.

Diane Dernie, mother of paratrooper Ben Parkinson, 25, who suffered horrific injuries in Afghanistan, said she was "surprised and heartbroken" to learn of the tactics being used.

She said: "I think the whole implication that there are fraudulent claims shows a complete lack of understanding on behalf of the people who are sending them out there of what the soldiers go through and what they experience.

"I have met so many of these boys now and the implication that they are not genuine is insulting.

"It insults what they do and it insults them and their families."

Mrs Dernie, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, said the impact of physical and psychological injuries could last a lifetime, as in the case of her son, while others found their careers over as a result of being wounded.

"What about the boys whose careers are ruined, with ankle or knee injuries, who are never going to be able to be a soldier or do physical work?" she added. "Is it these people who are being spied on?

"It leaves a bad taste in the mouth."