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  courtesy of the independent
  
  
  The number of former service personnel in prisons is nearly three times higher than official government figures, according to new research. As many as one in ten prisoners are military veterans, as opposed to the 3.4 per cent official figure, according to the criminal justice campaign group No Offence. MPs and campaigners say the shock new figure is clear evidence of a "betrayal of the military covenant".
  
  They warn that the number of ex-servicemen in prison is likely to grow further as the 20,000 troops returning to civilian life due to defence cuts struggle to make the transition after the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
  
  Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru MP and chair of an all-party parliamentary group focused on the plight of veterans in the criminal justice system, said: "This is a failure of the military covenant - and it's avoidable. It is going to get far worse unless we do something to address it. The Government is in denial of the figures." He said official figures fail to take account of soldiers who have served in Northern Ireland, females, reservists and anyone under the age of 21.

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