16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
•
Ensuring
that witnesses were properly prepared for inquests, by briefing
them
on their
purpose and format.
•
Handling of
classified material. Recent lapses had resulted in the
unauthorised
release of
classified US material; this had undermined Ministers’ confidence
in
the MOD’s
management of inquests. A review was under way on whether
the
Services’
support for inquests should be centralised, possibly using the
model
provided by
the Cell.
150.
The MOD
released redacted versions of BOI reports to the next of kin
and
coroners.
The version released to the next of kin was redacted to remove
personal
information
relating to third parties, and security and operationally sensitive
information.
The version
released to the coroner was redacted to remove certain security
and
operationally
sensitive information only, with a request that the report was not
introduced
151.
The inclusion
of the names of third parties in the version of the BOI released to
the
coroner
allowed the coroner to identity potential witnesses for the
inquest.
152.
In November
2006, Ms Selena Lynch, Deputy Assistant Coroner for
Oxfordshire,
directed
the MOD to provide a “full set of papers” to a bereaved family’s
legal team and
indicated
that she might consider a legal challenge if the MOD did not
comply.94
153.
Mr Chris
Baker, MOD Director General Service Personnel, advised
Mr Ingram on
22 January
2007:
“It is
evident that the manner in which some of the BOI reports have been
redacted,
by blocking
out the names and text ... renders them unintelligible. Families
and their
respective
Counsel claim that because they are unable to follow the narrative
of
the BOI it
is difficult to consider whether to request the coroner to invite
additional
witnesses.”
154.
Mr Baker
stated that the MOD’s position was that the redaction of the names
of
third
parties was necessary “to comply with both our responsibilities in
accordance with
the Data
Protection Act 1998, and in common law, as an employer to protect
the identity
of current
and former employees”.
155.
Mr Baker
concluded that to meet the concerns of families and the coroner,
the
MOD would
replace the names of third parties with unique identifiers (such as
Person
AA and
Officer BB), which would enable families to follow the narrative of
the BOI report
more easily
while still protecting individual identities.
93
Paper
[MOD], 17 December 2004, ‘BOI Reports – Disclosure
Policy’.
94
Minute
Baker to PS/Minister(AF) [MOD], 22 January 2007, ‘Board of Inquiry
Reports – Disclosure for
the
Purposes of an Inquest’.
105