Family and comrades of Lance Sergeant David Walker honour the memory of a ‘terrific’ family man and ‘rock-hard’ soldier

Tributes have been paid to Lance Sergeant David Walker, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards, who was killed in Afghanistan while fighting the Taliban.

Walker, 36, died on Thursday in Nad-e-Ali, an insurgent stronghold in Helmand province. He was the third British solder killed while taking part in Operation Moshtarak – a joint UK, US and Afghan assault against the Taliban.

His family released a statement which read: “We are devastated by the loss of David, who was a terrific husband and father.

“We are proud of the fact that David was prepared to do his duty helping the people of Afghanistan; he will be sadly missed by his wife Teresa and by all his family and friends.”

His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Jopp MC, said Walker was a “brilliant soldier” who was “quite simply, as tough as old boots”.

He added: “Unflinching, steady as a rock and just as hard. He was just what the world would expect when they hear the phrase, ‘a sergeant in the Scots Guards’.

“He died during a crucial operation as part of Operation Moshtarak, leading his men in their task of air assault, flying and landing beyond the IEDs in order to extend the reach of the government forces.

“A numb pride in his sacrifice is the only relief from the pain of his death.”

Major Iain Lindsay-German, company commander right flank, Scots Guards, added: “The company has lost one of its brightest stars. Lance Sergeant Walker was one of the most inspiring men I have ever met.”

The defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, expressed his “deepest condolences” to Walker’s family and friends.

A total of 263 British troops have now died since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001.

Last night the MoD named another soldier killed in Operation Moshtarak. Lieutenant Douglas “Dougie” Dalzell, from Hamstead Marshall in Berkshire and a member of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, died in an explosion in the Babaji area of Helmand province on Thursday.

The deaths were announced as the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, said that Nato’s efforts to prevent civilian deaths during its operations were insufficient because innocent people were still being killed.

In a speech at the opening session of the Afghan parliament today, Karzai held up a picture of an eight-year-old girl who he said was the only one left to recover the bodies of her 12 relatives, all killed when two Nato rockets struck their home during the offensive in the southern town of Marjah. He called the incident a tragedy for all Afghanistan.

Karzai acknowledged that Nato has made some progress in reducing civilian casualties, and thanked Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal for “standing with us honestly in this effort”, but he added: “We need to reach the point where there are no civilian casualties. Our effort and our criticism will continue until we reach that goal.”

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There was something deeply disasteful about the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition vying for photo-opportunities in the Garden of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Armistice Day. Both Mr Brown and Mr Cameron have apologised to the Dean of Westminster, who rebuked them for failing to obtain permission, though why either of them felt they could not pay their respects without the presence of cameras is anyone’s guess. We report today how the National Memorial Arboretum that commemorates thousands of servicemen who have died on operations since the Second World War is in danger of falling into severe disrepair unless it urgently raises £8 million. If our political leaders are so anxious to show that they care for the fallen, let them do something about that.

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