The treatment of Chris Jones, an army veteran of 26 years, should shame us all.

As reported in today's issue (pg 8), the service which was treating Mr Jones for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, which he developed in service of his country, has had its funding slashed by Boris Johnson's Government.

In his own words, he has been left feeling "disregarded, forgotten and worthless by these

cuts", after being told he can no longer receive treatment at a combat stress facility near Ayr, Scotland.

Mr Jones correctly points out that the Conservative Party dedicated a full page of its manifesto to veteran's issues in the run up to the 2019 general election, so why have they now slashed 40% from the budget of this service?

We've endured 10 years of austerity now. The blue wave which crashed against Labour's red wall in December's election was supposed to bring with it a Tory Party that would be kinder to the UK's post-industrial towns and provide some much-needed cash for vital public services.

In this example, that clearly has not happened. Instead, a veteran of our armed forces has been left high and dry by a Government which is supposed to repay the service of veterans with good healthcare and financial security.

The Government is not living up to its end of the bargain.