Ex-commando Carns to scale new challenge

VETERANS' MINISTER HOPES TO RASIE £1M BY CLIMBING EVEREST

- JANE HAYNES Politics Editor

HE'S arguably the toughest MP in Parliament now Birmingham Selly Oak former commando Al Carns is seeking to scale Mount Everest in just seven days to put his name into the record books and raise £1 million for charity.

Carns, 45, former Special Forces chief and current Veterans' Minister, is flying out to Everest base camp in Nepal tomorrow and will be back in London a week later, if all goes to plan.

But as departure day approached, he said he was aware that he was taking on a potentially deadly challenge.

"I have been on five tours of Afghanistan and seen operational conflict many times but this is the first time my three kids have expressed real worry," he said.

He said he was able to reassure them that 'the team, training, kit and planning involved had been the best possible'.

"But we are going into an area known as the death zone, and I don't take that lightly."