16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
400.
Ms Elizabeth
McLoughlin, the Director General of Service Personnel
Policy,
responded
in September, having consulted the Chiefs of Staff.266
Existing
practice was
that, apart
from letters written by those serving with the individual who had
been killed,
a senior
officer would write one letter of condolence “on behalf of both the
Sovereign
and the
Service”. While the Services appreciated the wish to provide
additional comfort
to the
families of personnel killed on operations, they were concerned
that:
•
It would be
very difficult for any letter, unless written locally by the
unit
commander,
to be other than “bland and impersonal”. Experience
had
shown that
it was not helpful for families to receive a large number of
official
condolence
letters based on generic information.
•
The Services
(and the Chief of Defence Staff in particular) did not want
to
distinguish,
for this purpose, between individuals killed on operations
and
those who
died “as a result of the normal rigours of Service life”. They did
not
believe
that the circumstances of a death made the next of kin any more or
less
deserving
of sympathy.
•
There was
also a question of whether the next of kin of Reservists and
MOD
civilians
should be included.
•
In the
event of mass casualties, writing to the next of kin might be
difficult.
401.
Ms McLoughlin
concluded that the existing practice should continue,
although
the Prime
Minister or the Secretary of State might in addition send a
personal note in
“exceptional
cases where it is felt that families would benefit”. That would
need to be
assessed on
a case‑by‑case basis.
402.
In late March
2003, No.10 asked the MOD for advice on how Mr Blair
should
honour UK
Service Personnel killed on Op TELIC, and especially whether he
should
write
letters of condolence to the families of Service Personnel killed
on operations
and whether
there should be a ceremony or function to commemorate
deceased
403.
Mr Hoon’s
Private Office responded to Mr Blair’s Assistant Private
Secretary on
27 March,
advising that:
•
the current
policy (whereby a senior officer wrote a single letter of
condolence)
remained
sound; and
•
it would be
appropriate for a ceremony to be held after the conflict
had
266
Minute
McLoughlin to APS/SofS [MOD], 17 September 2002, ‘Letters to next
of kin (NOK)’.
267
Minute
Gibson to APS/Secretary of State, 27 March 2003, ‘Request from
No.10: Letters for the
Families of
the Bereaved and Memorial Ceremony’.
268
Letter
Williams to Cannon, 27 March 2003, ‘Recognition of Armed Forces
Personnel who died
on Operations’.
145