Raqual(ok) Harper-Titchener, 48, collared Rishi Sunak in person during a Remembrance Day reception and says he vowed to look again at the ex-gratia payments’ issues.

Mother of two Raqual believed she would be getting an £87k lump sum after losing her war widows pension because she remarried before April 2015.

But after a long fight backed by the Daily Express, she and many others have been told they don’t qualify for the cash.

So, when she met the PM at a Downing Street breakfast reception last month, she seized the moment.

“I thought it was now or never,” she told the Express. “I could hear my late husband Matt’s voice in my head saying, ‘you’re not usually so quiet’ .

“I have kept my dignity throughout this but I’m so angry now that I had to speak up.”

Raqual, now chair of the Army Widows’ Association, tragically lost her first husband during the Iraq War in 2003.

Royal Military Police officer Major Matt Titchener, 32, was killed in an ambush leaving his 28 year-old wife with a young son Matheson, 2, – and 20 weeks pregnant with their second child.

Their daughter Angel was born the following year.

Raqual, from Ayr in Scotland eventually fell in love again and in 2011 she remarried– at which point she had to give up her £7,500 a year War Widows Pension.

In 2015 The government changed the rules so that those who found love again could keep the money- leaving out a cohort of around 300 widows who had already re-wed.

A campaign to include them was hailed as a victory of sorts earlier this year – when the ex-gratia payment was agreed.

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But the widows were forced to fight again to stop it being taxed. And it has now emerged that those who get their late husband’s occupational ( attributable) pension are excluded.

“I was flabbergasted when I saw the criteria,” said Raqual. “At first I thought they must have got confused. But no…”.

“It means the only group now eligible for the payment are those who lost their attributable pensions as well.

“It’s totally right that they get the money but it numbers far fewer than the 380 the Government themselves were claiming. I only know of about 20 who qualify.”

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“The occupational pension was never part of our campaign. We’re lost for words – and exhausted. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it has!”

She added: “It’s never been just about the money. It’s about recognition, although I can’t believe I’m asking to be recognised as a war widow. It’s not really a club you want to be in. It’s ludicrous!”

Raqual spoke out after she and Angel, now 19, were invited to Downing Street to mark Remembrance Day last month.

She was introduced to the PM after his military attaché spotted the Elizabeth Cross she was wearing – won posthumously by Matt.

“My stomach was in knots because I had decided to tackle him about the payment if I got the opportunity,” she said.

“Mr Sunak thanked me for coming and started saying how the event was all about people like me and Angel …I just jumped in and said ‘can I just say I am one of the ladies affected by the war widows pension issue.”

“He said something like; ‘I’m so glad we managed to get that sorted for you.’”

I said: “No, Prime Minister I don’t think you understand. I told him about the long battle that we have had and the fact that I’ve now discovered I’m not eligible.”

“I said I had told my story to numerous people in the MOD and the government –and that I found it unbelievable that this has happened. That we’d been lied to and deceived.”

Raqual said Mr Sunak pledged to look into it- and signalled to the military attaché, who later promised me he would personally look at all the paperwork.

She revealed she had also spoken to Minister for Veteran Affairs Johnny Mercer at the reception, and he too suggested he would look into it.

She added: “I am still waiting to hear.”

Downing Street declined to comment.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “There is nothing we can do to bring a loved one back, and no amount of money will ever change that.”

“This payment is not intended to put a value on the widow or widower’s loss. But this is a meaningful amount in recognition that remarriage or cohabiting with a new partner does not erase the bereavement.

“The eligibility criteria was shared with the War Widows Association during the development of the scheme which is designed to provide support to widows who do not receive compensation, like their spouses’ attributable pension due to forfeiting their entitlement.”

“This payment is part of our commitment to recognise the sacrifice of armed forces personnel who died in service of their country and the families they leave behind.”

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