16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
366.
During Defence
Questions in the House of Commons on 14 May 2007,
Mr Angus
Robertson
asked:
“Will the
Ministry of Defence work with the incoming Scottish Executive to
ensure
that
inquiries [into the deaths of Service Personnel] can take place
under Scots law?
After all,
that would help to reduce the backlog and to ease the inconvenience
to
“The answer
to that is yes ... My understanding is that there would need to
be
a change to
primary legislation. We need to look into that, but if there is a
will
to change
in Scotland, let us hear the propositions.”236
368.
Mr Ingram
subsequently discussed with MOD officials how he could
respond
to
Mr Robertson’s call.237
369.
On 2 June,
Mr Ingram wrote to Mr Kenny MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary
for Justice
at the
Scottish Executive, to open a discussion on the issue:
“Ensuring
that they [inquests] are conducted in a family‑friendly manner
remains
a priority
for us and, where practical, we are allocating them to ‘home’
coroners in
England and
Wales. We share your concern that it has not been possible to
hold
them in
Scotland.
“The fact
that we have, so far, repatriated the bodies of Scottish Service
Personnel
to England
ensures that there can be an inquest, albeit under the Coroner’s
Court
arrangements
for England and Wales.
“We would
favour moving towards a position where, if appropriate, Inquiries
into
the deaths
of Service Personnel can take place in Scotland. We would be
happy
to work
with you to achieve this. However, we believe it will require a
change of law
370.
Ms Prentice
wrote to Mr MacAskill on 25 October, asking if there had been
any
developments
since Mr Ingram’s letter.239
In the
absence of an appropriate process
in
Scotland, the bodies of Scottish Service Personnel were repatriated
to England “to
ensure that
there can be an inquest”. This meant that families had to travel
considerable
distances
from their homes in Scotland to attend inquests.
235
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 14 May
2007, column 382.
236
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 14 May
2007, column 382.
237
Minute
Baker to PS/Minister(AF) [MOD], 22 May 2007, ‘Fatal Accident
Inquiries for Service Deaths
Overseas’.
238
Letter
Ingram to MacAskill, 2 June 2007, [untitled].
239
Letter
Prentice to MacAskill, 25 October 2007, ‘Inquests of Scottish
Service Personnel’.
139