A Whitehall committee which has repeatedly refused medals to veterans will be reviewed under the next Labour government.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey has pledged to get the armed forces "the recognition they deserve" and will review a process which has forced heroes of the Cold War, Afghanistan, and Bomber Command to fight for a gong.
The Advisory Military Sub Committee is supposed to be independent, but earlier this year the Mirror found it had accepted "lines to take" from the Ministry of Defence over fears about possible compensation claims linked to medallic recognition.
A Labour source said the review would not mean "a medal free-for-all", but under the current system too many heroes from the rank-and-file were being overlooked.
Healey said: "“It’s right that there’s a high standard on risk and service for the award of medals, but there are more and more examples where a strong case is denied by an inflexible system, conducted behind closed doors and restricted by rigid rules and traditions.
“It can erode morale and fails to recognise the service of many who have been prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“In government, Labour will review the system for awarding medals to serving personnel and veterans to ensure they get the recognition they deserve without having to resort to lengthy campaigns or Ministerial intervention.”
The review is expected to cover the AMSC rules, the ability of the MoD to influence it, and its membership, which is subject to Whitehall control. It will also look again at who advises government on medals.
It comes a week before Remembrance Sunday, and just days after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament he had "fed into" the medals process for nuclear test veterans, which may have broken the rules.
Wallace is believed to have written a personal letter indicating whether or not he supported a medal, but the Cabinet Office has refused to reveal its contents. The AMSC's terms of reference state that it is above ministerial influence. Details of its minutes and meetings are not released.
In April, we uncovered emails showing Ministry of Defence officials were feeding the committee false information about the risks of service at the atomic tests. Survivor John Morris said: "That committee is not fit for purpose. I'm denied a medal because being next to a nuclear bomb apparently isn't dangerous enough, yet the top brass hand them out to each other like sweets. The only time some of them have ever held a gun was while shooting grouse."
The AMSC has also denied a medal for the 1948 Berlin airlift, a star for Bomber Command, and clasps for the British Expeditionary Force sent to France in 1939, and those who gathered intelligence behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
Last August, it was suggested service personnel who took part in the evacuation of Afghanistan should get a medal, but the MoD announced that despite the stress, chaos, and suicide bombers, Operation Pitting did not meet the criteria as it did not include 30 days of continuous service.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and others forced a ministerial u-turn, and within four months an Op Pitting clasp was added to the existing Afghanistan medal.
Nuclear veterans have been denied a medal since the first bomb test in 1952. Some honours were given to senior officers, and the chief scientist was given a peerage. After meeting Boris Johnson in June to press their case, he agreed they should have a medal and ordered a review, the results of which are still awaited.
Both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak also supported a medal for the test veterans, but neither has delivered one. It it thought the new Prime Minister's team are reviewing all the pledges he made during the summer leadership campaign, in the light of possible cutbacks..
