THE Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will defend its controversial decision to strip benefits from a disabled war veteran at a tribunal tomorrow in Newport, south Wales.

The embarrassing courtroom showdown comes less than a week after Armed Forces Day, during which Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd called on people to support “the men and women who serve Britain with such distinction.”

The DWP is being taken to court by 56-year-old Royal Air Force veteran Jonathan Williams, who lost his £100-a-week employment and support allowance (ESA) just days before Christmas.

The hearing will take place in his absence because uncertainty over his future has left him too anxious and unwell to attend in person.

Mr Williams, a Morning Star reader, served with the UN in Bosnia where he was trapped under fire in the siege of Sarajevo. The events left him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He also served several tours of duty in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and was injured on exercise in the Arctic Circle when a helicopter landed on him.

The RAF veteran received incapacity benefits from 2001 until an agency worker declared him fit to work last year despite medical evidence to the contrary.

He told the Morning Star that his case demonstrates the “sheer hypocrisy of Armed Forces Day,” an annual jamboree to promote the military.

His case also highlights a chaotic approach between government departments towards veterans.

“I receive a 60 per cent war pension from the MoD and a specific supplement from them in recognition of my inability to work, but the DWP appears to have disregarded this and does not want to support me at all.”

Last month a charity published damning research into the government’s wider treatment of ex-military personnel.

A report commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust warned that benefit sanctions should not be applied to veterans experiencing mental or physical health issues.

They interviewed 120 veterans and found that the benefits system was “baffling,” “unfair” and “bewildering.”

Some participants in the study said they had resorted to using foodbanks or “going through the bins” in order to survive.

One ESA claimant was told by an assessor, who had no medical training: “To be honest, all you veterans that say you’ve got PTSD and everything, it’s just a crock of shit.”

Mr Williams’s local Labour MP, Nick Thomas-Symonds, told the Morning Star: “The assessment system created by the Tory government has led to great injustices. 

“It too often fails to take into account the nature of fluctuating and variable conditions, and too often fails to take into account the particular needs and experiences of specific groups of people. 

“Our veterans, who have done so much for us, deserve fairness like everyone else. It is high time the government gave them that.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on an ongoing tribunal case, but decisions for ESA are made by medical professionals based on all the information that’s available to us at the time and we will help any claimant who is not found eligible with access to other benefits and support.

“Armed Forces Champions are based in every jobcentre to provide specialist support to veterans to access benefits and employment, and work with charities like the Royal British Legion.

“We deeply value the service of our armed forces and, as the Forces in Mind Trust report recognises, the majority of people are able to make a successful transition to life outside the armed forces, with 82 per cent of veterans employed within six months.”

But Mr Williams pointed out: “Many veterans only develop their PTSD several years after leaving the forces. 

“Jobcentres should not be pushing veterans into applying for jobs when the MoD pension scheme has already recognised they are unfit to work.”

The MoD was also approached for comment.