The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
404.
On 7 April,
Mr Blair wrote to a bereaved spouse who had lost her
husband
on
Op TELIC, to respond to her concerns about the way she was
being treated by
405.
On 9 May, in
response to a further request for advice from No.10 on
whether
Mr Blair
should write letters of condolence to the families of Service
Personnel killed
on
operations, Mr Hoon’s Private Office repeated the advice that
the current policy
(whereby a
senior officer wrote a single letter of condolence) remained
sound.270
Mr Hoon’s
Private Office added that the MOD was reviewing its policy on
writing letters
of
condolence “in the light of the specific circumstances of the
operation in Iraq”, but was
unlikely to
change it.
406.
Mr Hoon’s
Private Office advised No.10 on 16 May that the review had
concluded
that the
MOD’s policy should not change:
“... you
[No.10] asked if our experience during operations in Iraq had
caused
us to alter
our position ... It has not ... The Prime Minister wrote in
exceptional
circumstances
and in response to correspondence.”271
407.
The MOD looked
again at the policy at the end of June, following a
meeting
between
Mr Blair and General Sir Michael Walker, Chief of
the Defence Staff, during
which
Mr Blair expressed a personal desire to write.272
408.
Lt Gen Palmer
advised Mr Hoon on 30 June that, while the Chiefs of
Staff
considered
that the policy remained sound, given Mr Blair’s desire to
write and the fact
that he was
already corresponding with some families, their preferred option
was that
Mr Blair
should write only to the next of kin of “those who die on Op
TELIC”.
409.
Mr Hoon’s
Private Office wrote to No.10 later that day, to confirm that it
“could be
appropriate”
for Mr Blair to write to the next of kin of those killed on Op
TELIC (including
civilians
and those killed in circumstances other than in direct action with
the enemy).273
410.
On 1 August,
Mr Matthew Rycroft, Mr Blair’s Private Secretary for
Foreign Affairs,
advised
Mr Blair that the MOD had, again, reviewed its policy and that
Mr Hoon would
now write
to the next of kin of individuals who had died “while in an
operational area”.274
Mr Rycroft
recommended that Mr Blair should now write only to the next of
kin of
individuals
who had been killed in action.
269
Letter
Blair to [name redacted], 7 April 2003, [untitled].
270
Letter
Williams to Cannon, 9 May 2003, ‘Recognition of Armed Forces
Personnel who Died on
Operations’.
271
Letter
Williams to Cannon, 16 May 2003, ‘Recognition of Armed Forces
Personnel who Died on
Operations’.
272
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to PS/SoS [MOD], 30 June 2003, ‘Letters of condolence
from Prime Minister to
Bereaved
Families of Service Personnel’.
273
Letter
Williams to Cannon, 30 June 2003, ‘Letters of Condolence from the
Prime Minister to Bereaved
Families of
Service Personnel’.
274
Minute
Rycroft to Blair, 1 August 2003, ‘Letters of Condolence to Bereaved
Families of Service
Personnel’.
146