Comic Jim urges Gus to end his Newport protest on veterans' issues
Comedian Jim Davidson returned to Newport for the third time in support of Falklands veteran Gus Hales.
Mr Hales is continuing his protest outside Combat Stress in Audley Avenue, backed by a team of veterans ready to take his place if he needs it.
And while he can no longer continue his hunger strike for health reasons, Mr Hales said he was going to continue his campaign.
Mr Davidson, who runs the Care after Combat veterans charity, said he was trying to help Gus to get what he needs – and get him home.
"Everybody wants Gus to end the protest and get himself fit. His life was at stake, and he's saying other people's lives have been at stake as well.
"I'm here today to make sure Gus realises everybody, including Combat Stress, is doing their best for him," he said.
"What I don't want to happen is for the public to believe military charities are somehow failing them. We have limited resources, and everybody is trying their best.
"They will listen to what Gus has to say, and I've been telling Gus to listen to what they say as well."
He said he hoped people would continue to use Combat Stress if they needed to, despite Gus's protest.
"The fear is that it will stop veterans with Mental Health issues coming forward for Combat Stress," he said.
"I hope the charity and Gus have a chat, that Gus goes home and we can move forward. Gus wants an independent inquiry into Combat Stress, and I'm sure they would welcome that."
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Mr Hales had to stop his protest while in hospital following his hunger strike.
But he said he will continue to campaign to raise awareness of the issues facing veterans.
"I'm still a bit on the weak side," he said. "Sunday night my blood pressure plummeted, I got taken into hospital, stabilised and I was found to be malnourished and dehydrated.
"If I think about it now I could have gone in the tent and just not woke up. That's how bad it was.
"That is quite frightening. I didn't realise it in myself. I started to feel dizzy that morning, but I'm not too bad now.
"I can't go back on hunger strike. I think it would kill me."
Mr Hales is still calling for a public inquiry into the Combat Stress charity.
"We need answers, and we will only get the answers through an independent inquiry into this organisation," he said.
Mr Hales initially stood down from his two-week protest on Remembrance Sunday, but despite an apology from Combat Stress for the way he was discharged, and a pledge to review other cases of veterans who had suffered from the same treatment, he said he would continue his campaign until he had a concrete promise of government action.
