The defence minister Tobias Ellwood has revealed his army veteran uncle killed himself, having suffered depression in silence, as he says soldiers' mental illness has too long been “left in the shadows”.
It comes as new figures have shown the numbers and rates of mental health disorder among UK armed forces have increased over the past decade.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the defence minister opens up about the veteran’s suicide for the first time.
Mr Ellwood’s uncle, John Clarke, found it “impossible to battle his demons” and was eventually “defeated” by them, the minister, who was four years old at the time, writes.
He warns that mental illness has for too long been “burdened by stigma”...