The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
54.
Lt Gen Palmer
wrote to Mr Hoon’s Private Office on 17 April, confirming that
work
was already
in hand to conduct that comprehensive review (an initial report
would be
available
by 16 May), and reporting the “immediate remedial action” that had
been taken
in response
to the individual’s experience:
•
Lt Gen Palmer
had “declared” that all except one of the Op TELIC
fatalities
to date
were attributable to service. That declaration meant that the
usual
assessment
of attributability would not be required, and that families
could
be notified
now that the higher benefits associated with deaths
attributable
to service
would be paid.
•
The letters
used by the AFPAA were not appropriate. As of 16 April, all
letters
dealing
with Op TELIC had been “personally vetted” by the AFPAA’s
Chief
Executive
and checked by the appropriate Service Casualty
Co‑ordination
Centre.
•
Families of
Service Personnel were now able to stay in their
service
accommodation
for “as long as they feel they need to in order to assess
their
longer‑term
housing requirements”. If pressed, VOs should “talk in terms
of
nine months
although stressing that each case will be examined on its
merits”.
•
The MOD had
asked the deceased insurer’s to accelerate their
procedures.38
55.
Lt Gen Palmer
was advised on the same day that the MOD was facing a
new
challenge:
“Policy ... changing ‘on the hoof’”.39
56.
Lt Gen Palmer
provided his first report to Mr Hoon on bereavement
procedures
on 16
May.40
It
identified six recent, specific lapses in the MOD’s handling
of
bereaved
families (two of which pre‑dated Op TELIC), and three broader areas
where
improvement
was necessary:
•
the volume,
timing and style of correspondence between multiple
MOD
organisations
and bereaved families;
•
a lack of
clarity over the sources of specialist advice available to
bereaved
families;
and
•
the
“training/education” of CNOs and VOs.
57.
Lt Gen Palmer
reported the actions that had already been taken to prevent
a
recurrence
of those specific lapses, and restated the decisions of the
previous month
38
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to APS/Secretary of State [MOD], 17 April 2003, ‘[name
redacted] –
Follow‑up Action’.
39
Minute
Cheadle to Palmer, 17 April 2003, ‘Op TELIC – Pay, Pensions and
Allowances Issues
on Death of
Service Personnel’.
40
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to PS/USoS [MOD], 16 May 2003, ‘Bereavement – Review of
Procedures’.
86