RAF uniform ban!!

ROYAL Air Force (RAF) personnel at an air base in England have been ordered not to wear their uniforms in public following a spate of threats and abuse from civilians.

The move comes amid a push by the Government to persuade more soldiers, sailors and airmen to wear their uniforms in public to try to improve ties between the defence forces and the public.

But RAF commanders at a base near Peterborough have banned personnel wearing their distinctive dark blue uniforms in public after servicemen and women were targeted over their involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as they walked through the Cambridgeshire town.

The ban was reportedly imposed after a seven-month review of incidents involving personnel who lived in the city and had been abused in the streets while wearing their uniforms when they were off-duty.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said he hoped the ban would soon be lifted.

“We must defend our forces’ right to wear their uniforms in public,” he said.

“It is a great shame that some individuals in this community don’t respect our forces, who are daily doing a great deal for this nation. This is not a situation we should tolerate.”

Peterborough’s local mayor Marion Todd, whose great-nephew is serving in Afghanistan, branded the abuse “despicable”.

“It’s a sad day for the city and for the country when the RAF can’t wear their uniforms … A small minority of people shouldn’t be able to dictate to us,” she told The Times.