LONDON, March 7: Military personnel at an east England airbase have been told not to wear uniform in public because some have been insulted and abused over Britain’s role in the Iraq and Afghan wars, the defence ministry said on Friday.

Reports of the abuse prompted the commander of the Royal Air Force base in Wittering to order staff to wear civilian clothes when they visit the nearby city of Peterborough.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned those responsible for the abuse and praised Britain’s armed forces. “They should be thanked for the great job that they are doing, and they should be encouraged to wear the uniform in public,” he told reporters.

Defence Minister Derek Twigg told BBC radio a “small minority of people” had abused uniformed personnel.

No details of the incidents which prompted the ban were released. Cambridgeshire police said they had received no reports of abuse against air force personnel.

British newspapers said the insults were related to Britain’s role in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The government’s decision to take part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was extremely unpopular, and many Britons are opposed to the continued presence there of several thousand British soldiers.

British troops are used to having a lower profile at home than other countries’ armed forces. For decades, they did not wear uniforms in public at home for fear they might be attacked by guerrillas fighting British rule over Northern Ireland.

—Reuters