AN APOLOGY has been given to veteran standard bearers who were banned from taking part in the Royal Wootton Bassett parade last month.

More than 70 standard bearers from across the country, including some from the Trowbridge branch of the Royal British Legion, defied orders and marched anyway.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council had already explained that they were missed out of the programme because the town council was unable to organise the whole event by themselves and outsourced the work to various organisations.

Now Maurice Baker, president of the Royal Wootton Bassett branch of RBL, has written to all the standard bearers to offer his apologies. He said: “I am very sorry for the way in which you were dealt with by the town council. We were all guests of the town and had to comply with their wishes as agreed with the MoD and the Cabinet Office.

“After the way in which you attended the repatriations I felt that a little more recognition could have been given.”

Parade marshall Brian Mitchell, from the Trowbridge branch, said: “Now we have an apology but it did not need to happen in the first place. We did the right thing by marching anyway and it was appreciated all around.”