Hoon announces Iraq honours

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon today unveils a list of 90 service men and women who are to receive honours for their activities in Iraq.

Mr Hoon – widely tipped to leave his post in the impending Cabinet reshuffle – declared, ” Britain’s Armed Forces face significant challenges, often in difficult circumstances, in their varied roles across the globe.

“These honours and awards recognise the outstanding achievements of these truly extraordinary men and women and their acts of great courage, bravery and determination.”

Among the soldiers to be honoured are Sergeant Kajiman Limbu of the Royal Gurkha Rifles and Sergeant Paul Kelly of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, both of whom will receive the Military Cross, for acts of valour and leadership under fire.