BAFF welcomes the announcement that war widows covered by the 1975 armed forces pension scheme will, from next April, no longer lose their widow's pension if they find a new partner.

The change is not yet in force, nor is it retrospective. It appears that those who have already had their pension withdrawn, because of finding a new partner, will not get it back.

UPDATE: An Army widow whose husband lost his life in Northern Ireland, and who lost her entitlement to service widow's pension on her remarriage, has now started an online petition here: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WAR WIDOWS/ THE WRONG TIME TO DIE!

The Government must now establish a more truly independent complaints process in the Armed Services, says the House of Commons Defence Committee in its latest report, published today. The report is a response to the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill, which has completed its passage through the House of Lords, and is now being considered in the House of Commons.

Campaigners Child Soldiers International (CSI) are taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence to demand that soldiers who joined the Army Foundation College at 16 or 17 years of age "are not forced into serving longer than adult recruits".

Their argument is that those who join the AFC at 16 or 17, and do not exercise their right of discharge before they reach 18, then have to serve the same minimum four years adult service as everybody else. So if their AFC service is included, their total service obligation is longer than someone who joins at 18 or over. CSI describe this as "Catch 22".

After nearly four years ex-paratrooper Tom Neathway, who lost both legs and one arm in an IED blast in Afghanistan, has finally received the Army's apology not only for the way he was bullied by a superior, but for the way he was then treated by the chain of command, and his complaint under the service complaints system appallingly mishandled. Alex Thomson's report shown on Channel 4 News last night 06/10/2014 can be seen below: