The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
810.
Officials also
recommended that LE staff employed at the British
Embassy
Baghdad and
British Embassy Offices Basra and Kirkuk since May 2003 should
receive
a
certificate commending each individual’s contribution to the
reconstruction of Iraq.
811.
Mr Benn
recommended that, before Ministers took a final decision, the
main
NGOs should
be contacted to confirm that they did not want their personnel to
receive
the
award.515
That
consultation process, which was carried out by DFID and
took
several
months, reaffirmed the FCO’s advice that individuals working for
NGOs should
not be
eligible.
812.
Dr Howells
approved the FCO’s eligibility criteria for the IRSM on 19 May
2006.516
813.
In April 2006,
with the details of the medal still not agreed, Acting ACC
Barton,
Chief
Police Adviser – Iraq (CPA‑I), reported that awards to UK police
officers serving
in Iraq
remained a “bone of contention”.517
Several
staff had commented that police
officers
and FCO staff did not receive the Op TELIC campaign medal. ACC
Barton
proposed to
award every member of staff who served three months in Iraq a
Contingent
Commander’s
Certificate of Merit. Commendations would be reserved for
outstanding
commitment
or acts beyond the call of duty. Serving officers would also
receive a letter
to their
Chief Constable. Retired officers would be sent a testimonial
letter.
814.
The Cabinet
Office submitted the July 2005 FCO paper to the Committee on
the
Grant of
Honours, Decorations and Medals in August 2006, after the
negotiation of a
815.
The Secretary
to the Committee explained in a covering note that:
“No
civilian medal has ever been awarded for civilian service in a war
zone. It is
therefore
important that this case is considered carefully. It is essential
that members
of the
military who have been awarded the military medal should not feel
that they
are
disadvantaged by the application of less rigorous standards to a
parallel medal
for
civilians and members of the military in non‑operational
roles.
“The
situation in Iraq has been unprecedented in terms of the number of
civilians
who have
been involved in reconstruction and the transition to democracy
…
“These
civilians have volunteered for this work. The work has been
generally
well‑rewarded
financially. A concern of the MOD is the fact that the military
have
been
haemorrhaging personnel who leave the forces to become highly paid
security
contractors
in Iraq. There is some discomfort over the prospect of these
people
becoming
eligible for a medal on the same basis as their former
colleagues.”
515
Minute Iraq
Directorate [junior official] to PS/Dr Howells, 17 May 2006,
‘Iraq Reconstruction Service
Medal
(IRSM)’.
516
Manuscript
comment [Dr Howells’ Private Office] on Minute Drake to
PS/Dr Howells, 19 May 2006,
‘Iraq Reconstruction
Service Medal (IRSM)’.
517
Report
Barton, 20 April 2006, ‘Situational Review of the United Kingdom
Civilian Police Mission in Iraq’.
518
Paper
Ceremonial Secretariat [junior official], 9 August 2006, ‘Iraq
Reconstruction Service Medal’.
382