The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

if you are a Visiting Officer, you can have a pretty traumatic time. Throughout a

period of a tour of duty, you might be looking after one or two or three families one

after the next, and they need to be monitored for stress ... and we have a process in

place to do just that.”58

81.  Lt Gen Irwin told the Inquiry that “there is no doubt about it that the training is better

now, the preparation is better now”.59

82.  MOD Ministers returned to the issue of the training and support provided to Visiting

Officers in 2008.

83.  In February 2008, Sir Bill Jeffrey, the MOD’s Permanent Under Secretary, provided

detailed advice to Mr Bob Ainsworth, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, on how the

BOI process could be improved and how the existing process could be accelerated.60

Sir Bill’s advice did not consider the role of the VO.

84.  Mr Ainsworth held a meeting on 11 April to discuss that advice.61 The record of the

meeting reported:

“The Minister raised the issue of interface with families. He recognised that the

Visiting Officer role was very difficult ... He also recognised the clear single Service

lead in this area ... He, nevertheless, felt that more could be done in terms of the

resourcing and training of Visiting Officers. He felt that the cell [the Defence Inquests

Unit] should play a role in this area, focusing on ensuring the right training and

guidance is provided, sharing best practice between the Services and monitoring

performance.”

The experience of bereaved families

85.  The experiences that family members have shared with the Inquiry suggest that

there was considerable variation in the quality of the notification process. Some family

members spoke positively about the sensitive and prompt way in which the news was

delivered. A smaller number reported negative experiences, including:

• insensitive delivery;

• an impression that details were being withheld (particularly in ‘friendly fire’

incidents or where there was a possibility of equipment failure);

• release of names to the media before official notification;

• circulation of names amongst the families of others deployed in Iraq before

official notification; and

58  Public hearing, 19 July 2010, page 45.

59  Public hearing, 21 July 2010, page 48.

60  Minute Jeffrey to Minister(AF) [MOD], 29 February 2008, ‘Boards of Inquiry and Inquests’.

61  Minute PS/Min(AF) to APS/Secretary of State [MOD], 11 April 2008, ‘Boards of Inquiry and Inquests’.

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