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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Dave Higgens

Trump’s Afghanistan comments ‘ultimate insult’, says mother of wounded veteran

Ben Parkinson Donald Trump Afghanistan Sir Keir Starmer NATO United States
Seriously injured veteran Ben Parkinson with his mother Diane Dernie at their home in Doncaster, Yorkshire (Dave Higgens/PA) - (PA Archive)

The mother of the most severely wounded British veteran to survive the Afghanistan conflict has condemned US President Donald Trump over his suggestion America’s allies stayed away from the front lines.

Diane Dernie, whose son Ben Parkinson suffered horrific injuries when an Army Land Rover hit a mine near Musa Qala in 2006, said the American leader’s comments were “the ultimate insult”.

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