Danny Kinahan resignation: Labour government declines to say if it will continue Tory plans to make Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner full-time like GB counterparts

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Kinahan said: “Following an open and frank conversation with the Secretary of State, I have sadly concluded that I cannot provide the independent voice that veterans require."

His role was to give veterans a voice and ensure the rollout of the Armed Forces Covenant in NI - the Government promise to treat veterans fairly.

However implementing it in NI is challenging because republicans traditionally object to allowances for veterans on grounds of discrimination.

Many veterans also refuse to identify as such when asking for help, due to security concerns, which also hinders its covenant implementation.

On Friday morning TUV MP Jim Allister challenged the government to press ahead with Tory draft legislation to make the NI Veterans Commissioner position full-time.

Thanking Mr Kinahan for his service, Mr Allister called on government to resolve "fundamental issues" for his successor.

“The role of Veterans’ Commissioner must be put into a statutory basis and Government must provide proper resources and a structure," he said.

He said few people realise the Veterans’ Commissioner post is only part-time with just two staff.

“By contrast the Victims’ Commissioner role is full time with a staff of seven."

“Many veteran issues in Northern Ireland still need to be resolved. The previous government had a draft bill to align all the veterans’ commissioners across the UK and put the posts on a statutory basis but the legislation was not introduced in time. The new Labour Government needs to take this forward as a matter of urgency.”

Friday morning the News Letter asked the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) if it would continue with the Tory plans. However at the time of going to press there was no comment.

Meanwhile, chairman of Ards veterans charity Beyond the Battlefield, Robert McCartney, says the closure of a major NI veterans organisation by the MOD this month may have been the final straw for Mr Kinahan.

The NI Veterans Support Office (NIVSO) was established by government to deliver the Armed Forces Covenant in NI for veterans by networking between government and support groups.

Mr McCartney said: “What I can say is that we got notice in March that the Northern Ireland Veterans Support Office was closing. And that was a key organization or platform that Danny worked with and worked from - he was viewed as a figurehead for it.

"And since that office closed, the MOD’s Office of Veterans Affairs (OVA) in London has taken control of the responsibilities that the NIVSO had in Northern Ireland."

The NIVSO emailed a statement in March to all NI veterans groups announcing its closure by September after a UK-wide review of veteran welfare by the MOD. (The NIVSO statement is on the organisation's website in full.)

The News Letter invited the MOD and NIO to respond to Mr McCartney's comments.

The MOD said on Thursday that the NIO would issue a statement, however the resulting NIO statement on Thursday night made no mention of the NIVSO.