16.4 | Conclusions: Service Personnel

83. Between July 2006 and February 2007, Ms Harman pressed the US Government,

through the US Embassy London, to provide classified US material and

US representatives to support inquests into the deaths of UK Service Personnel.

The US declined to provide that support.

84. Following a meeting with the families of Service Personnel killed on Op TELIC

in December 2006 and representations in Parliament, including from Mr Roger Gale,

Ms Harman explored the possibility of providing legal representation at inquests for the

families of Service Personnel, in particular at inquests where the MOD chose to have

legal representation.

85. The Government did not provide that support. In 2009, the Government agreed an

amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill to provide legal representation at inquests

into the death of British Service Personnel on active service. However, that provision

was not brought into force and was subsequently repealed.

86. From June 2007, MOD Ministers pressed the Scottish Executive to make provision

for Fatal Accident Inquiries to be held into the deaths overseas of Service Personnel

normally domiciled in Scotland.

87. The Government made provision for such Inquiries in the 2009 Coroners and

Justice Act.

It could take several years for the MOD and the coronial system to conclude investigations

into the deaths of Service Personnel.

The Inquiry considered why the investigative process should take so long. The four main

factors were:

• the difficulty of conducting Service Police investigations in a hostile environment,

which was exacerbated by a lack of qualified military investigators; the MOD set no

deadlines for the conclusion of Service Police investigations;

• the Army’s policy, at the beginning of Op TELIC, to hold an investigation into all

deaths, and only to launch a BOI after the investigation had concluded; this policy

changed in 2004;

• the time taken to complete BOIs, and in particular to receive comments from senior

officers and advisers on draft BOI reports; and

• the backlog of inquests which built up in the Oxfordshire Coroner’s office.

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