In his speech to Labour’s conference in Bournemouth, Des Browne, the defence secretary, urged delegates to show their appreciation and gratitude for the efforts and sacrifices of Britain’s armed forces. He was met with muted applause. Lord Guthrie, former head of the armed forces, castigated the prime minister for barely mentioning the services during his speech. Our soldiers, sailors and airmen put their lives on the line for us. When they return home, sometimes physically injured or with severe mental scars, it is our duty to ensure they are properly cared for. This, as the British Legion has reminded us, is the military covenant between the nation, the government and the armed forces. Today that covenant has been broken.

We break that covenant when we give soldiers pathetically inadequate compensation for desperate injuries. Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson was offered just £152,150 from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to cover his lifetime medical costs. This was after he was blown up in Afghanistan and lost both legs, injured his spine, pelvis, skull and spleen, and suffered brain damage. With the closure of dedicated military hospitals, soldiers who need treatment often find themselves at the end of NHS queues. Some of those at the top have done little for the country, let alone been prepared to give their lives.

Help for Heroes, a charity, will be launched tomorrow with Jeremy Clarkson, the Sunday Times columnist, and his wife Francie as its patrons. They were horrified by the conditions that exist for injured service personnel and were inspired to act. The charity, aimed at servicemen and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, is intended to provide better facilities, particularly at Headley Court, the military hospital in Surrey. A charity cannot fill all the gaps in what should be publicly funded care for the casualties of war. But it is a way of demonstrating that our military heroes are not forgotten. This newspaper is supporting it. We urge you to do so, too. It may even shame the government into fulfilling its duty.