AS an ex serviceman eligible to claim the Veterans' Lapel Badge award, I contacted the Veterans' Agency a few weeks ago to place my order.

The badge arrived three days later but it had a couple of dents in the face. I contacted the agency, and was told that I could have a replacement.

The replacement arrived and it too was dented in exactly the same place.

I received a second replacement, which also had dents in the face, as did the third. It was obviously a manufacturing fault.

To add insult to injury, the accompanying certificate didn't even have the recipient's name.

A note that accompanied the third replacement badge revealed the badges were made in China and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Our taxpayers' money should not be spent on shoddy goods. In fact it is another insult not to have the badges made by British craftsmen.

Is this what the government thinks about the veterans? Offering them a well overdue award of shoddy goods not even made in Britain?

If the government can go to the expense of setting up yet another quango the Veterans' Agency that duplicates what the British Legion and other ex servicemen's organisations already do, they could at least have bought badges that were fit for purpose.'

The other point is that it is a real slap in the face for those veterans who were killed in action, that their surviving spouse or children are not eligible to claim the badge on the deceased's behalf.

That is absolutely scandalous. That decision should be reversed immediately.

MR J BUCKLEY, Holden Fold, Darwen.