Updated: A SOLIDER from York is facing court martial for refusing to return to Afghanistan – as he says the British Army’s mission there is doomed to failure.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, from New Earswick, spoke out about his belief that troops should be withdrawn from the war-ravaged country as he handed in a letter of protest to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The 27-year-old Royal Logistic Corps squaddie, who joined the Army in 2004, could be sentenced to up to two years in a civilian jail for his opposition to the conflict as he prepares to go before a court martial next week for desertion.

He is thought to be the first serving soldier to speak out about the Government’s Afghanistan policy, saying a Nimrod crash during his 2006 tour of duty in the country – which killed 14 men – was key to his disillusion with the war.

“Carrying coffins from where they were stored by forklift truck down to the medical centre, that’s certainly something that has stayed with me – humping bodies around on this forklift truck,” said L/Cpl Glenton.

“I don’t believe our cause is just. I think it’s adversely affecting the Afghan people as well as the British Army and their families.

“I think it has become part of the problem rather than the solution.” He said Taliban forces and the British Army were “grinding each other down” and achieving nothing, and called on Mr Brown to pull UK troops out of the country.

“I know that the Afghan people are very resilient – I can’t see us getting much further,” he said.

Despite his loyalty to the Army, the soldier – who spent much of his childhood in Ryedale – said he felt obliged to speak out against the conflict despite the risk of damaging morale.

“I have an obligation to the Army – it’s not right to just follow blindly,” he said.

“I feel there is something fundamentally wrong with this campaign. I’m doing what I feel I am obliged to do as a citizen and a soldier to stand up and say my piece.”

L/Cpl Glenton went absent without leave in 2007 before handing himself in after two years and six days.

He was joined in his Downing Street protest yesterday by his wife, Clare, and members of the Stop The War Coalition, whose spokesman Chris Nineham said it was a “very significant moment” in their campaign against the Afghan conflict.


Soldier’s terror at making lone stand of honour

HE loved serving his country – but Joe Glenton has explained why he had to put his principles above his duty.

The 27-year-old from York – whose teenage years were spent in Ryedale and who attended Helmsley Primary School as well as working as a waiter at the town’s Black Swan Hotel – admits the prospect of being jailed for his one-man rebellion over the British Army’s role in Afghanistan is “terrifying”.

But Joe, who married his wife, Clare, earlier this year, told The Press he will not abandon his stand, saying: “I want to be heard and recognised – I feel I have a moral obligation to speak out and I will go through with it.

“Being in the Army was a great lifestyle – I loved it, I threw myself into it because I was so keen, I was promoted early and I miss the people I served with.

“But the time has come to draw a line under it for myself and my family – I have something to say and a duty to say it.

“Up to a point, it’s a question of honour, but it’s also a question of doing something for the people who are still out there because they’re being short-changed. The whole situation in Afghanistan has never been properly justified.

“It was a real wrench to do this, but I’ve had two-and-a-half years to think about it.

“Although there have been some dark days and I initially felt quite isolated, people have supported me and said they share my opinion.”

Joe – who moved to Ryedale aged eight and set up his own martial arts club during his time there – says a seven-month Afghan tour of duty in 2006 opened his eyes.

“Being out there was intense, but in the aftermath everything became crystallised for me – I couldn’t see what we had achieved except causing a lot of damage to the country and its civilians,” he said.

“The thought of going to jail is terrifying – I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, but it’s something I have to do.

“My family are all fully supportive, although it’s hard for them and will have an impact on them.

“I think they’re proud of me for what I’m doing.

“And nothing will change my mind – I’m not willing to back down. It’s time for me to finish this.”


York Press: The letter of protest handed in protest by Lance Corporal Joe Glenton