Soldier accused of desertion says army will fail in mission

Published on Thursday 30 July 2009 22:04

A BRITISH soldier facing court martial for refusing to return to Afghanistan has said that the army's mission will fail and troops should be withdrawn from the country.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, from the Royal Logistic Corp, handed in a letter of protest to Downing Street yesterday. He said that the Nimrod crash in 2006 was a key event which left him disillusioned with the war during his first tour of Afghanistan.

L/Cpl Glenton said: "Carrying coffins from where they were stored by forklift truck down to the medical centre, that's certainly something that has stayed with me, humping bodies around on this forklift truck."

Taleban forces and the British Army are simply "grinding each other down" and achieving nothing, he said.

The soldier went on: "I don't believe our cause is just. I think it's adversely affecting the Afghan people as well as the British Army and their families.

Having joined the Army in 2004, he went absent without leave in 2007 before handing himself in after two years and six days. He is facing court martial on Monday for desertion and could face up to two years in a civilian jail.