Mother of British soldier killed in Afghanistan says: ‘He died for nothing’

Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan
Corporal Darren Bonner, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan 14 years ago
PA
Michael Howie18 August 2021

The mother of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan 14 years ago says she has been let down by the British Government as "he died for nothing".

Corporal Darren Bonner, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk, was serving with the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment when he was killed in Helmand in 2007.

His mother, Christine Harrison, told Sky News on Tuesday: "I'd just come to terms with the fact that Darren's death had freed people and that has taken me 14 years to get to that point.

"And now I just feel it was for nothing.

"I don't agree with what the Government are saying.

"There are other families out there who feel like me - heartbroken.

"I feel like I've been taken back 14 years and I'm reliving it all over again.

"The Government can't take that away.

"It was in vain. I haven't got my son. I feel right now he died for nothing."

Ms Harrison said her son, nicknamed Big Daz, was looked up to by his unit and always tried to look after younger soldiers.

She said: "I'm very, very proud of him and he was very, very proud of being part of the British Army. But I feel so let down and I feel he's been let down as so many other soldiers have."

Ms Harrison added that many other bereaved families were feeling hurt and let down.

She said: "Lots and lots and lots of them have come to me and said, 'What are we going to do, Chris? How are we going to cope with this?'

"They are heartbroken. So I speak on their behalf because there a lot of them who can't speak for themselves.

"I just feel we've been so let down by the Government and where do I go from here? I don't know how I'm going to get over this now.

"It's just opened everything again."

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