Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to carry out any investigations into historic military deaths that have occurred in Scotland since 1990; and if not, why not.

The investigation of deaths, whether they are military or civilian lies with the Scottish Government and the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal/Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) complies with the appropriate legislation; Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 for investigations into deaths of Service personnel in Scotland.

The decision to conduct Fatal Accident Investigations is for the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal in conjunction with the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.

The MOD will always support the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit in its deliberations/investigations in an open and honest manner.

An initial investigation is carried out following any death, very serious injury or serious injury of a Service person, including natural causes whether they are on or off duty.

The initial investigation includes an overview of the event, what happened, to whom, when and why. These accounts are conducted expeditiously after the event (within five days if possible), and are designed to be a swift capture of the events and aimed to identify any immediate lessons that may have been found.

The internal investigations also present recommendations to prevent any recurrence of a similar incident where possible. These investigations are always shared with the Crown Office/Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.