The war in Afghanistan was by no means a popular one, however it was backed by NATO, who’s forces are still fighting to keep the peace in the region. But at no point, whether you are against the war or not can you oppose the heroism of the armed forces; especially heroes such as L/Cpl Matt Croucher. Refusal to stand in Ovation as the hero was awarded the George Cross is as unthinkable as applauding a terrorist act.

This is what Salma Yaqoob and another member of her “Respect” party Mohammed Ishtiaq did. To compare this to sympathy with terrorists is nothing short of accurate as a member of the council chamber Martin Mullaney pointed out in a forum:

“Both George Galloway and Salma Yaqoob have talked about the British soldiers being “lions led by donkeys”. If they truly believe that to be the case, then they should be prepared to applaud British soldiers for doing their duty.

Remember, Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher has not been awarded a George Cross for killing the Taliban, but for risking his life to save his comrades by lying on top of an exploding grenade.

I can only assume that if one of the failed 21/7 London suicide bombers had been in the Council Chamber last Tuesday, Cllr Yaqoob would have been demanding the Council applaud the failed suicide bomber for their past ‘heroic actions’. “

And I as a law abiding citizen find this completely unacceptable especially as the terrorist sympathiser blamed the 7/7 suicide bombings as reprisal for US aggression.

Terrorist sympathiser Yaqoob had this to say:

“My refusal [was to] stand with these hypocrites, who say they applaud the bravery of the soldiers, but who do not have the moral courage to question their own leaders as to why we are sending them there, so they are put in harm’s way in the first place.”

This is completely unacceptable, there is a time and place for criticism of War and that isn’t at a service dedicated to an act of heroism. There is no doubt that a lot of the people that did stand and applaud were against the war but that doesn’t lessen the bravery of our troops. If members of the Respect party aren’t jailed, sacked, deported or otherwise disposed of this will be a sad day for democracy.