THE youngest British soldier to be awarded the George Cross has said he felt betrayed and let down by the government.

Trooper Chris Finney, from Marple, Stockport, was just 18 when he tried to rescue injured colleagues from a burning vehicle which was under attack from American A-10 ‘tankbuster’ aircraft during the Iraq War on March 28, 2003.

But Mr Finney, of the Blues and Royals, who has since left the Army and works in a call centre, said he felt betrayed by the government, how troops were not given enough equipment, and the pressure of being awarded the prestigious medal.

Mr Finney, who now lives in Bournemouth with his girlfriend, said: “The usual grumbling by soldiers at the politicians who determine their fate has for me hardened into real anger.”

He said he was given a resettlement allowance of £500 when he left the Army, while politicians are given between 50 and 100 per cent of their annual salary to help them adjust to life after Parliament.

“What makes me even more furious is the demonstrable lack of respect shown by the Government to those who have paid the highest price and made the ultimate sacrifice: the war dead,” he said.

He questioned the absence of ministers at repatriation ceremonies and said Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call to Simon Cowell after Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle had a breakdown was a ‘slap in the face’ for the parents of hundreds of soldiers killed serving their country.

Mr Finney added that there was “still not enough” kit for troops and said: “I am not alone in feeling betrayed and let down by this government.

“My growing maturity brought an understanding of the workings of Whitehall and Downing Street and a sense of betrayal by the successive governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

“I fell out of love with the Army and put in my papers.”

Mr Finney also said the award of the George Cross - the highest award for acts of conspicuous gallantry performed by men or women when not in the face of the enemy - “placed upon me - a boy soldier - a burden of expectation that I could never fulfil”.

He said the “glittering career predicted for me simply didn’t happen” and added: “Just because I went a bit crazy for a few minutes in the desert and helped my friend out, it didn’t make me the ultimate soldier or the bionic man. I’m just a human being.”

He added that the medal “counted for little” when he tried to find a job in the middle of a recession.

“My medal says I am a hero of the Iraq conflict, a man of extraordinary valour and strength of character. But now I work in a call centre selling insurance on a meagre salary of half my army pay.

“I am a perfect example of the confusion this country feels towards its veterans.”

On March 28, 2003, Trooper Finney came under fire from US A-10 warplanes while in a Scimitar vehicle during a D Squadron Household Cavalry Regiment patrol of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, north of Basra. He escaped his burning vehicle but noticed his gunner was trapped in the turret and went back to rescue him. He then broke cover and returned to the Scimitar to radio for help.

As the warplanes carried out a second attack, he continued to help the injured gunner. Although wounded in the lower back and legs, he then attempted to rescue the driver of another vehicle.

The citation read: “Despite his wounds and the continuing danger from exploding ammunition he valiantly attempted to climb up on to the vehicle but was beaten back by the combination of heat, smoke and exploding ammunition.

“He collapsed exhausted a short distance from the vehicle and was recovered by the crew of the Royal Engineers Spartan.

He was described as showing courage “which was out of all proportion to his age and experience”.