Gordon Brown today led a chorus of political leaders urging British soldiers, sailors and airmen to wear their uniforms in public and condemned any abuse of them by opponents of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister spoke out after the station commander at RAF Wittering advised his service personnel to wear civilian dress if they visited nearby Peterborough in case they attracted insults. RAF sources said that the ban followed a number of incidents of personal abuse.

Speaking at No 10, Mr Brown said: “All our armed forces should be able to, and encouraged to, wear their uniform in public and have the respect and gratitude of the British people for the huge commitment to public service they show.

“I encourage the local police to back up our armed forces so that not only can our armed forces wear their uniforms in public, but they should have the gratitude of the British public for the work they do.”

The Prime Minister went on: “I believe the great majority of the British public would condemn any form of abuse. I condemn absolutely any members of the public who show abuse or discrimination to our armed forces.

"The public will want to show our respect and gratitude to our armed forces and we will back up the police in their efforts to show that at RAF Wittering or anywhere else it’s possible for the armed forces not only to wear their uniform but to have the thanks of the British public.”

The Ministry of Defence says that the decision at RAF Wittering was a local one made by station commanders – the official MoD advice is for service personnel to wear their uniform "with pride".

The Wittering station commander, Group Captain Ro Atherton, was unavailable for comment today as his decision came under fire. RAF sources said that the abuse had been verbal and had come from local "yobs"; there had been no incidents of physical abuse.

Prior to 1998 servicemen were advised not to wear uniforms in public because of fear of terrorist attacks from the IRA, even on the mainland, advice that has now been changed.

Cambridgeshire Police said they were not aware of any incidents of service personnel being attacked or abused in Peterborough and the town's Tory MP, Stewart Jackson, said that the ban was "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

He said: “The police don’t have records of any serious problems. My understanding is that it’s a small number of incidents of verbal abuse.

“I think it should be rescinded and I’ve written to the Defence Secretary asking him to consider that. I suspect it’s probably a very tiny minority of people. And they don’t represent the views of any community in Peterborough.

“The RAF should wear their uniform with pride and I think that’s the general view of the local community.”

Mr Jackson added: “If an airman in uniform was to walk through the streets of Peterborough today, I think the reaction he would get would be tremendous. I think people would stop and clap and cheer.”

That support was in evidence today. Lorry drivers tooted in support of the RAF as they drove past the main base of the gate on the A1 this morning.

Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said: “Of course the commander on the ground must make the final decision on these matters but I regret that the circumstances exist where a decision like this had to be made.

“I think that the majority of our public would be appalled to hear that there are no-go areas for our armed forces, even in their own country.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The bright side of this winter rain
• Story behind the picture: Snow Leopard, 2008
• Times Charity Appeal: The Place2Be