Discrimination_against_members_of_the_armed_forces_in_the_United_Kingdom
Incidents have been reported of discrimination against soldiers of the armed forces of the United Kingdom, comprising the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force.[1]
In December 2007, the British Prime Minister requested a report to evaluate the relationship between "our Armed Forces and the rest of society".[2]: 3 The report details the following incidents:[2]: 39–40
- Troops returning from Afghanistan were told to change into civilian clothes at Birmingham Airport in December 2007.
- Troops returning from Afghanistan into Edinburgh Airport were directed away from the public areas through ad hoc facilities in 2007.
- Patients from the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court were subjected to verbal abuse in November 2007.
- RAF personnel were banned from wearing uniform in Peterborough after incidents of verbal abuse.
Other incidents of discrimination and harassment against soldiers reported in the media were not detailed in the report as they had not been corroborated.[2]: 40
On 4 September 2008, the Metro Hotel in Woking refused a wounded soldier a room, forcing him to spend the night in his car.[3]
There were incidents of public houses banning soldiers in 2002.[4]