PM apologises over soldier letter

[ccharles000]

Gordon Brown has telephoned the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to apologise after apparently misspelling his name in a letter of sympathy.

Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, from Brighton, East Sussex, was killed in an explosion in October.

In a video distributed by the Sun newspaper, his mother Jacqui called the letter a "hastily scrawled insult".

But Mr Brown said he was sorry "for any unintended mistake", adding that his writing could be "difficult to read".

Guardsman Janes, of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in Helmand province.

According to the Sun, his mother Jacqui was angry when she received the prime minister's letter of condolence in which he appeared to misspell Guardsman Janes's name as "James".

In a statement, he said: "I take very seriously my responsibility to the bereaved.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8349757.stm

[Captain Hilts]

1. I respect him for getting personally in touch and then for apologizing. When the 5 Sullivans were

killed in WWII, Franklin and Eleanor each wrote a note to the parents.

The soldier's mother is allowed to react any way she wants. Your son being killed is a trump card you can play any way you like.

But I respect Brown using the personal touch.