VETERANS of the Troubles in Northern Ireland should be afforded as much support as other members of the armed forces who have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, Monmouth MP David Davies has said.

Speaking in Parliament last week, the Conservative MP said he was concerned British men and women who had served in Northern Ireland in the second half of the 20th century were disadvantaged in comparison with other veterans.

"When we think about veterans, particularly on the mainland, we often tend to conjure up visions of either those brave warriors who defended us during the Second World War, many of whom I am glad to say are still with us, or the younger men and women who served more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

"We sometimes tend to forget about the many other conflicts in which we have been involved, such as Korea, the Falklands, Bosnia and, of course, Northern Ireland."

Saying members of the British armed forces serving in Northern Ireland had been under threat "24 hours a day, 365 days a week", he added: "I imagine that being on active service must be incredibly stressful.

"Once that six-month tour of duty finishes, however, perhaps people can start to relax again, but that was not the case for so many people in Northern Ireland, particularly those who lived there."

But he said an inquiry by the Welsh Affairs Committee, which he chairs, had found many ex-servicemen and women had found it difficult to apply for social housing, healthcare, schools or other services as a result of having not lived in one location for a significant length of time.

"We heard evidence that those who had been moving around on service were sometimes disadvantaged when making an application for social housing," he said.

"We heard about veterans experiencing problems getting paperwork transferred from the Ministry of Defence to their NHS.

"I say 'their' NHS because there are, of course, four different ones across the United Kingdom, which can add to the problem.

"I hope that (defence secretary Tobias Ellwood) will look at that.

"People also have problems getting their children into school because they do not live in the catchment area."

Mr Davies, who served in the Territorial Army for about 18 months in the late 1980s and was a special constable with the British Transport Police from 2006 until 2015, when he had to step down after new rules were introduced banning police officers from taking an "active role" in politics, added he believed some non-military personnel should also be able to access support available to veterans.

"We rightly use that term (veterans) to define anyone who has served in any branch of the armed forces, but other people, particularly in Northern Ireland, also ought to qualify," he said.

"Obviously, I refer to members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, but I also refer to the forgotten service - those who have worked in the prison service.

"They also face and have faced violence and intimidation on a regular basis, and would be worthy of some of the care we are suggesting should go to members of the armed forces."