Exclusive: War hero Simon Weston calls for plan to secure peace

Speaking exclusively to the Shropshire Star ahead of a visit to the region tomorrow, the former Welsh Guard asked: "What's the end game?"

The 54-year-old knows about the horrors of war, having been left with severe burns when the landing ship RFA Sir Galahad was attacked in the 1982 Falklands conflict.

He will be talking about his life and current world events at Theatr Hafren in Newtown tomorrow.

Simon said: "Politicians are talking about whether we get more involved in air strikes now, but the debate has to be broader.

"We didn't have a proper end game in Iraq, or if we did it wasn't followed through well, which is where all this stems from."

Simon Weston may not have held high rank in the military. He may not have held high office in politics. However, if anyone knows the devastating effects of war, it is Weston.

The hero survivor of the Falklands War is better placed than almost anyone to talk about the horrors that can be caused. He also knows about the life-changing, long-term effects. So when he speaks, listening is the least that we can do.

Weston is concerned that the global strategy to defeat Isis is poorly defined. Syria has become the great crisis of our time and a range of solutions – military, diplomatic and humanitarian – are required to solve it.

More than a quarter of a million lives have been lost; Isis has beheaded British citizens, brutally murdered tourists and threatened to do worse. Our nation faces a sustained and continuing terrorist threat.

The recent events of Paris and the downing of a Russian aircraft in Turkey yesterday have shown that the situation is becoming increasingly grave.

There is a greater risk than ever of tragedy and destruction. Mistakes have deadly consequences. Running too close to the limit can spell disaster.

Weston says we must not be thinking about the short term, about whether or not to join the French and Americans in dropping bombs on Isis. He says we must be looking to the long-term, to how our world will look in years to come.

He is absolutely right. The fatal flaw in Tony Blair's Iraq plans were that there appeared to be no end-game. The removal of Sadaam Hussein left a vacuum into which terrorists poured. It led to the radicalisation of people who might otherwise not have gone on to embrace demonically radical and militant beliefs.

A strategy must be found that simultaneously defeats Isis while not radicalising a new generation of terrorists. It must provide humanitarian aid for those who are displaced: for they are hunted by Isis and not wanted by much of Europe.

Their lives are lived at the barrel of a gun: they have nowhere to run.

Weston is appearing at Theatr Hafren, in Newtown, and those who attend his talk will no doubt be inspired.

He also attacked the downsizing of the British Army and an increasing reliance on the part-time TA forces, describing the policy as "flawed in the extreme".

He is best known as the heroic face of the Falklands conflict of the 1980s, but when we called for a chat Simon Weston was just doing the washing up.

"You have to do all the mundane everyday things still," he said.

That includes doing the dishes after breakfast, spending time with his family – especially grandson Zachary, eldest son James's son – and going to work every day.

He said: "My grandson is four and he's far too switched on, way too old and knowing how to work the TV and the tablet and everything else, and I'm thinking no, you should be four, you should be running around playing games.

"I wish I had more time to spend with him, but there's a huge house full of people and he's playing with everyone all the time. You've got to stand in line. His favourite person to play with is his uncle Stuart, who's 22 going on three. They spend all their time sword fencing and fighting. It's lovely to watch."

Away from the house, Simon runs a security company that provides cover around Britain and "makes great demands of my time".

He is also involved in charity work for Care After Combat - careaftercombat.org - which supports veterans who have found themselves in the justice system after leaving the Forces.

The charity helps veterans with criminal records find employment and accommodation, and Simon said he is proud to be involved in its work. He says the charity may sometimes be a hard sell to the public, but its work is absolutely vital.

"You can never make this charity pink and fluffy, but there are major benefits," he said. "First it costs £35,000 a year to keep someone in prison, and there are anywhere between 4,000 and 7,000 veterans in prison, which is disproportionate to the population. If you do the maths it's clear that it's better if we can help rehabilitate these people. And the other benefit is to the home – all the families who've supported these people in conflict and then when they come back home this happens and they lose them again."

It has been a long journey for Simon since he was badly burned in the 1982 Falklands conflict.

His injuries were horrific and the nation followed his progress in a number of documentaries at the time, watching him struggle with the pain of the initial injury and the psychological effects that led him to drown his sorrows by drinking.

In time he found love and has become a family man. He is married to Lucy, with whom he has three children James, Stuart and Caitlin.

He has also visited Argentina to visit the airmen who were responsible for the attack on Bluff Cove that destroyed the Sir Galahad, killing 48 and leaving scores with life-changing injuries. He become friends with First Lieutenant Carlos Cachon, the Argentine pilot who dropped the bomb that caused his injuries. Simon described the experiencing of meeting him as an important part of his mental recovery.

The Welsh Guardsman suffered 46 per cent burns in the attack and has since undergone 70 major operations or surgical procedures. But he has now come out the other side and is in no way bitter.

Simon is also very clear in his thoughts about the British military today and the looming threat of IS.

He said: "It's been given the right title of a terror cult. It's not got anything to do with Muslims per se – there are some incredibly decent Muslins in this country. If you look at the people involved in IS the majority have got a criminal past.

"Those people have been involved in all manner of things. The one who led the terror attacks in Paris had been done for quite serious criminal activity in Belgium before.

"The politicians are talking about whether we get more involved in air strikes now, but the debate has to be broader. What is the end game? We didn't have a proper end game in Iraq, or if we did it wasn't followed through well, which is where all this stems from. That fulfilled the basis of the Sunni Muslim uprising and this Baghdadi lunatic taking control of feeble-minded, rag-tag people to turn them into a major fighting force.

"There's 40,000 to 50,000 and growing every day now – more than the British Army. And that's another problem. If we keep downsizing and relying on part-timers then the belief that will work is flawed in the extreme."

Simon will be sharing some of his experiences with audiences at Theatr Hafren in Newtown tomorrow night, and he said they can expect andhonest evening.

"There will be a lot of humour and honesty," he said. "Some of that will be covering the sad and bad, and some will cover the irreverence. It's frank and honest and full-on. It's real."

The evening will also show his work ethic, as he currently has a chill. He said: "The greatest gift of all in life is to be happy and the second is to be happy and in work. I love working and being busy. You do work yourself into the ground and get run down. I expect by Christmas I'll have the flu.

"But I cherish every moment I've got on this planet. Life is a lot more fun for me than people realise. I'm quite a happy, gregarious guy and quite confident and open and fun, and still with that British reserve. Hopefully people can take that away from the night."

* Simon Weston – My Life, My Story will be at Theatre Hafren in Newtown tomorrow at 7.30pm.