This Army hero smuggled 200 refugees to safety. Now he has been

THE dashing young major was just the sort of hero Army chiefs like.

Shy, intelligent, caring and brave above and beyond the call of duty.

Major Milos Stankovic, of Britain's elite 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment, was all over Army recruiting posters.

His cradling of a baby caught up in the ravages of war was the image of protective strength which said more than any slogan dreamed up by admen.

Major Stankovic, MBE, was destined for the top. But now his military career is in ruins. He is at the centre of a spy storm believed to have grown from shadowy allegations made by America's Central Intelligence Agency.

Major Stankovic, 35 - who also uses the name Major Mike Stanley - has been branded a traitor because the CIA claim he passed on NATO secrets while on peace-keeping duty in war-torn former Yugoslavia.

It is now six months since his arrest, but Major Stankovic, the son of a Second World War Serb refugee, still doesn't know whether he will be charged or not.

And he still has no clue what - if any - evidence there is against him to support claims he tipped off Serbs while working for the United Nations Protection Force.

'He served with honour, dignity and bravery'

Major Stankovic was at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy when defence police swooped last October. He was on another step on an until-then glittering military career, and was waiting on his next promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.

While in the former Yugoslavia, Major Stankovic had worked as a chief liaison officer between UN forces and Bosnian Serb leaders.

Time and again he showed his bravery constantly crossing battle lines. And he earned himself the title of "a British Schindler" by helping smuggle over 200 refugees - no matter what nationality or religion they were - to safety.

Unarmed and without body-armour he put his life time and again on the line helping innocents flee the conflict zone.

Those he saved have now found new homes and new lives across the globe, but Major Stankovic has found himself on police bail in one of the Army's most sensitive investigations in recent years.

His lawyer Steve Barker yesterday condemned the legal no-man's land Major Stankovic has found himself in since he was arrested and taken to Guildford, Surrey, police station.

"When he was first arrested the Ministry of Defence police broke all the rules and regulations relating to an arrest," Mr Barker said.

"They totally ignored the fact that despite being a serving officer, he was still entitled to the rights of any British citizen.

"They refused him the right to a telephone call, until they were over-ruled by the local police sergeant. And he was held for eight hours, in a cell without being told why or even being allowed to contact a solicitor. "

Even if he is not charged Major Stankovic feels his military career is over. "He feels he has been tainted a traitor to the country that he has served with honour, dignity and bravery," said Mr Barker. "This is no way to treat one of our heroes.""

Major Stankovic was born in Rhodesia, but was brought up in Britain. He went to boarding school in Leicestershire before his family moved to Plymouth, where he became head boy at Plymouth College and head of the cadet force, before he joined the Parachute Regiment.

In 1982 he won a university cadetship and did a four-year Russian course at Manchester University. Since returning to regimental duties in 1987 he has seen service over the globe, including the 1991 Gulf War.

When he signed on, he told Army recruiting officers he spoke Serbo- Croat and was told by a Sergeant Major: ""You won't have any need for that in the British Army."

But he was one of only three British officers who spoke the language fluently and was immediately recruited to the British contingent which was sent on UN duties to the former Yugoslavia.

Major Stankovic's knowledge of the language made him a key element in the peace-keeping team and he grew close to the Bosnian Serb leadership as part of his job as chief liaison officer.

'It's an appalling way to treat an honourable man'

In 1993 he saved the life of a Muslim woman, wounded by Croatian sniper fire in Vitez. He put his own life on the life to rescue her, picked her up and carried her to a UN landrover and drove her to hospital - and safety.

Former BBC war correspondent and now Independent MP for Tatton, Martin Bell said: "He was the only one prepared to take the risk. The fire was heavy but he didn't flinch.

"It was truly an act of bravery and Stankovic put aside any thought for himself."

During his two tours of duty - more than any other British officer - Major Stankovic inherited an unofficial people's pipeline to safety - nicknamed Schindler's List after the Second World War German industrialist who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis.

The risks to himself and the other people involved were horrendous. At least one rescue mission a week was carried out, and scores of Muslims, Croats and Serb refugees owe their lives to him.

Martin Bell said: "This really is an appalling way to treat an honourable man. He really is one of the bravest people I have met and he has served this country well."

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