An army veteran has asked the city's MP to hand back his service medal, claiming he feels "harassed" by investigators into the actions of soldiers in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

Ex Para and former Major Tom Lynch, 81, served during The Troubles but has since received letters asking him to co-operate with investigations into unauthorised deaths and killings, along with other long-retired former officers.

He believes it is tantamount to harassment and, in protest, he asked Canterbury MP Rosemary Duffield to give his medal to the Prime Minister, which she held up in Parliament on Monday.

Speaking during defence questions the Labour MP said: "Please can we have every assurance that these investigations, whilst necessary, are being carried out in the most sensitive manner, especially for those veterans who are now suffering dementia and are in their 80s?"

Mr Lynch, of New Dover Road, was a pathfinder who served in operations and Cold War training exercises all over the world and spent almost 30 years in the regiment before becoming a training officer for the Territorial Army at Leros Barracks in Canterbury.

He told the BBC: "The Prime Minister can have my medal back.

"It was given to me for services on behalf of Queen and country, and I don't think now I'm getting that service back.

"I went out, along with many others, put our lives on the line, did our bit, and now they're reneging on their promise to look after us veterans. It's really very sad."

The government's consultation paper, Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland's Past, was launched in May.

On Tuesday, 150 Conservative MPs and peers delivered a letter to Downing Street calling on the government to abandon its plans for investigating past crimes in Northern Ireland and other military conflicts.

They said a proposal for a new Historical Investigations Unit would put service personnel at "an exceptional disadvantage".