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Daily Mail

By Daily Mail Reporter

A company boss has compared British soldiers to paedophiles and drug dealers after refusing a request by a recruitment service to provide jobs for former troops.

Karl Winn, 60, said he would rather 'recruit ex-drug dealers, convicts and child molesters' than employ former servicemen or women.

His comments came after he was contacted by Forces Recruitment Services and asked if he would consider taking on ex-soldiers at his net design company Webeurope.

Mr Winn, of Taunton, Somerset, wrote back: 'Personally, I'd rather recruit ex-drug dealers, convicts and even child molesters rather than consider anybody who has been in the pay of the British Government.'

'Anybody who has been in the pay of such a military force, and by their silence and complicity has condoned such illegal and immoral actions while accepting a monthly bloodstained pay-packet , certainly won't be considered for employment by us.'

'The reality for the families of their victims is that there will never be any justice, and there never will be any closure, for the loss of a son, a husband, a child, or a family member who has fallen victim to British Military personnel who are going beyond 'just doing their job'.

'Please remove us from your email list. Regards, Karl.'

Despite initially blaming a disgruntled ex-worker who he claimed had hacked into his emails, Mr Winn later admitted to The Sun that he had written them - and stood by his comments.

He admitted they may have been 'a bit over the top' but then said: 'I don't regret saying it at all.'

'Even if it costs me money I'll still stand up for what I believe in,' he said.

'If you have a paedophile, at least he goes to court and is seen to be accountable for what he's done. That's why I made a reference.'

Mr Winn's staff were later seen removing corporate signs from outside his office, which employs 16 people.

FRS managing director Graham Brown said he was 'staggered' by Mr Winn's attitude, which he said 'simply beggared belief.'

'I wonder if the Royal Marine detachment based in Taunton would share your belief,' he told Mr Winn in an email.

Sam McEwan, who works for a leading ex-troop recruitment firm, said: 'A lot of people in the business have seen this email and are enraged by it.

'Our servicemen and women continue to lose their lives so that we are free to express our beliefs.'

Winn later released a statement attempting to justify his comments.

'Ex-paedophiles and drug addicts who have been charged and paid the price for their actions deserve a chance to get on with their lives. In my opinion, military personnel who have got away with murder do not.'

'The reality from the north of Ireland, to Afghanistan and Iraq, is that the perpetrators of such atrocities will always be free to get on with their lives, safe in the knowledge that the policy of the British Government is to ensure their protection from prosecution.'

'I will therefore continue with my blanket ban on employing ex-military personnel. I understand this will affect innocent as well as guilty people.'

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