16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
137.
The 2005
review stated that, in relation to investigations on operations,
“delay
is still an
issue”. Delays were generally due to “overstretch and practical
inhibitors”,
such as the
need for force protection, rather than any specific failings on the
part of
the Service
Police.
138.
The review
also stated that the “primary RMP output” in Iraq was now
providing
support for
the reform of Iraq’s security forces.
139.
The review
recorded that work on the future structure of the Army had
resulted
in an
uplift of nearly 10 percent in the baseline figure for RMP
manpower.
140.
AM Pocock
wrote to Mr Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, on 17
August
2006
proposing that the timeline for conducting BOIs should be increased
from 14 to
27 weeks.88
The MOD was
operating at “maximum efficiency, within resources”
but,
for the
Army in particular, experience since the current timeline was
introduced in June
2004 had
shown that it was “not achievable”. No Army BOI had met the current
14‑week
timeline.
The Royal Navy and RAF did not have a problem with the current
timeline but
“saw merit”
in extending it.
141.
AM Pocock
summarised the problems in meeting the current
timelines:
•
It was not
possible to produce a Convening Order and Terms of
Reference
(TORs) for
a BOI within 48 hours (as the current timeline required). TORs
were
often
dependent on Service Police or LAIT reports, which could take
“several
months” to
produce.
•
It was not
possible to “staff” a BOI report (secure comments from advisers
and
senior
officers) within six weeks.
142.
AM Pocock
advised that underlying those problems was a resource
issue.
The Army
was currently required to convene up to 20 BOIs a month (compared
with
one or two
for the Royal Navy and RAF). It took time to identify and nominate
suitable
experienced
and available Presidents, to confirm the Terms of Reference, and
for
officers to
consider a BOI report.
143.
AM Pocock
closed his advice:
“Delays in
completing BOIs have been linked in the media to delays in
Coroners’
inquests.
Some families ... have also been critical of the time it takes to
complete
BOIs. It
is, however, unlikely that extending the BOI timeline will attract
significant
media
coverage.”
144.
In an annex to
his minute, AM Pocock analysed the reasons for delays
in
completing
BOIs. It concluded that progress had been made since 2004 but
that,
88
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to PS/SofS [MOD], 17 August 2006, ‘BOI Timelines – A
Proposal for Extension’.
103