The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mrs Helen Grant)
My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces and I wish to make the latest of our quarterly statements to the House reporting progress with the inquests into deaths of service personnel who have died on active service overseas. As the season of remembrance approaches, we make this statement in solemn recognition of the sacrifice made by our service personnel who have given their lives for their country. We honour too the sacrifice of the families they have left behind. Our thoughts are particularly with the families of the 13 service personnel who have died since our last statement in July.
In this statement we provide details of inquests conducted by the Oxfordshire coroner, the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner and other coroners in England and Wales. This statement gives the position at 21 October 2012.
We have placed tables in both Libraries of the House giving supplementary information for this statement. The tables provide the status of all current cases. They include information about those cases where a board of inquiry or a service inquiry has been held or has been directed to be held.
The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice have worked together for several years to ensure that our processes are the best they can be. On 17 September His Honour Judge Peter Thornton QC took up post as the first Chief Coroner for England and Wales. He will have a number of specific powers and duties in relation to service personnel inquests. Most recently, on 24 September, we commenced section 12 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which for the first time enables deaths of service personnel killed abroad on active duty to be investigated in Scotland, where the Chief Coroner thinks it appropriate. We wish him well and look forward to working with him.
Our Departments will continue to support the coroners who are conducting these inquests. Once again we record our sincere thanks to coroners, to their staff and to all those who help, support and inform families throughout the inquest process.
Both Departments have provided funding for additional resources for these inquests since October 2007 to the coroners for Wiltshire and Swindon and for Oxfordshire. This is because the airbase for the repatriation of fallen service personnel was previously located at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire; repatriations were rerouted to the RAF Brize Norton airbase in Oxfordshire in September 2011.
Current Status Of Inquests
Since the last statement eight inquests have been held into the deaths of service personnel on operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. Altogether, 563 inquests have taken place in relation to service personnel who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan or have died in the UK of injuries received in those operations. In three cases there has been no formal inquest. In one of these, the serviceman died of his injuries in Scotland and it was decided not to hold a fatal accident inquiry. In the other two cases, the death was taken into consideration during the inquest proceedings for other service personnel who died in the respective incidents.
Open Inquests
Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan
Currently 51 open inquests remain to be concluded into the deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. A total of 24 of these inquests relate to deaths in the last six months.
Nine of the open inquests have been retained by the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner and 19 by the Oxfordshire coroner. Coroners closer to the next of kin are conducting the remaining 23 inquests. Two hearing dates have been set at present.
Deaths of service personnel who returned home injured
Six inquests are open into the deaths of service personnel who returned home injured but sadly died of their injuries. These inquests will be listed when the continuing investigations are completed.
We will continue to inform the House of progress.