Decorations (Hansard, 15 February 1999)

§ Mr. Swayne
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future of the Territorial Decoration. [R] [70752]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Medals for the Reserve Forces are currently under review and an announcement will be made when the Review is complete.

§ Mr. Bob Russell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to have a medal struck for British military personnel who served in Egypt protecting the Canal Zone between 1951 and 1954. [70925]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
The Government have no plans to consider the retrospective institution of an award for service in the Suez Canal Zone during the period 1951–54.
The Under-Secretary of State carried out a comprehensive review of all extant historical documents on the subject in 1998 and concluded that he could find no grounds for reopening the case to award a medal for service in the Canal Zone between 1951 and 1954. Ministers have seen no new evidence that would enable them to recommend to the Honours and Decorations Committee that they overturn their policy of non-retrospection or any of the decisions made at the time and in subsequent reviews, several of which have taken place since 1990.