Sir – We believe that a campaign medal would have been a more honourable and worthy award than the clasp awarded to aircrew only in Bomber Command in 2012 and this is enshrined in law. I continue to press the Government to amend existing legislation through my constituency MP in Parliament and by writing letters to newspapers like yours to gain public support for such change before Parliament ends on March 30 and the General Election takes place on May 7.

The fact that only 7,000 BC clasps but 13,000 Arctic Stars had been issued speaks for itself (latest available MoD statement at November 6, 2014). Many eligible BC veterans or their next of kin did not apply because they considered the clasp to be an insult to the memory of the fallen (55,805 aircrew and 1,400 ground staff).

The MoD advised me on February 17 that they estimated 92 BC veterans are among the present unexpectedly high total of over 2,800 eligible army, navy and air force veterans who applied for the award of the Legion d’Honneur offered to UK survivors on our MoD website dated July 25 last year.

My MP has discovered that only two full- time staff are available to deal with all these which must be processed and sent on to Paris via the French Embassy for final approval. The successful recipients, however, will not have their awards posted to them as originally expected, but, instead, will be organised into batches for presentation ceremonies at dates/ times and locations yet to be fixed.

But posthumous awards are not allowed so any further delay is a matter of concern for these now elderly veterans, especially in these winter months. The French Embassy have told me that they are not responsible for any such delay.

Jim Wright, Abingdon