Jordan's Journal

Colchester stood still today for the funeral of a brave soldier, killed while on active service in Afghanistan. For me, witnessing for the first time the sight of a flag-drapped coffin, it was a stark reminder of the sacrifice our service personnel are making in Afghanistan.

Over the past ten years, our armed forces have been commited all over the globe, from Kosovo to Sierra Leone, from Northern Ireland to Iraq. While the reasons behind our involvement in many of those conflicts is understood, maybe Afghanistan is not.

Britain, alongside 40 other nations, is in Afghanistan at the invitation of the democratically elected Afghan Government to help rebuild and develop the country, but also to protect our own security and global stability. For me, Afghanistan is not just about ensuring our own national security, but it is about hope. Hope from the politicians in up and coming elections, hope amongst our troops that progress is being made and hope amongst the Afghan people that things are getting better. Despite the challenges we face, we must succeed and by learning the lessons from Iraq, we will succeed.

I am confident that the Government will continue to ensure our troops are given the best equipment and the best support possible to help them carry out their mission. Already, over £4 billion has been allocated for new equipment to go to Afghanistan. More vehicles are being brought and more helicopters will be deployed, many of which are being transferred from Iraq to Helmand.

In August, I will be meeting the Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell, to talk about Afghanistan and the role troops from Colchester Garrison are playing. Colchester is a proud garrison town and many people in Colchester regard the soldier based at the garrison to be their own.

I never fail to be impressed by the courage and professionalism of our armed forces, who continue to put themselves in harms way on behalf of our country. If the last few weeks has proved anything, it is that their professionalism, dedication and fortitude remains where it should be; second-to-none.

We will succeed in Afghanistan thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of our Armed Forces, many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice, and we owe it to them not to simply walk away.

This week has seen two very high profile court cases focusing on the behaviour of two high profile indidivuals - Steven Gerrard and Amy Winehouse.

It is interesting that these cases took place a week after Home Office figures were released showing an increase in cases of 'GBH with Intent'. While this was mainly due to the re-classifaction of how police forces record these crimes, the figures do acknowledge that much crime is alcohol fuelled - as we saw in both the Gerrard and Winehouse cases.

Other crime figures released also showed that over the last year (2008-09), overall crime was unchanged, but that the risk of being a victim of crime had dipped to 23%. Violent crime measurements show that acts of violence against the person fell by 6%. As someone who has been a victim of a violent crime recently, I know this comes as little comfort to the victims and families who have suffered in this way.

As I go around Colchester, people tell me there is one crime statistic that is steadily increasing - the fear of crime. Despite the real crime figures, people are not reassured. Especially when they see high profile court cases where the criminal is not punished. Improving public confidence in the Criminal Justice System is fundamental to the Labour Government's crime strategy. If people feel confident they are more likely to pick up the phone, make a complaint, report a crime, stand up in court and give evidence, and support other people to do the same.

This is why I am a supporter of the Government's ‘Justice Seen, Justice Done’ campaign, which focuses on putting the public first, both in policing and justice. I hope the new campaign will show the public that we are tackling the issues that matter to them, and that criminals face tough consequences for their crimes.

The verdicts reached by the juries in these two celebrity cases, in my view, was wrong. And while I do not know each individual circumstances of each case, it is the public perception that will be drawn from these cases that is of concern to me. People who are in the public eye enjoy a great many privilages, but they must remember that those privilages should be matched with responsibilites.

I personally believe today's verdicts set a very bad example, especially to young people, who will not doubt think that being a celebrity allows you to get away with beating people up on a night out.