---

Fatal Shootings (Iraq)

As a former soldier, I share in the tributes paid to our servicemen and women who represent our country abroad. They do a difficult job. I also share the thoughts for the families who face pressures when servicemen or women are abroad. I draw the attention of the Solicitor-General to a written answer from the former Secretary of State for Defence, in which he stated that Sergeant Roberts’ wife"““was provided with a summary of the incident on 18 June 2003 by the Casualty Visiting Officer””.—[Official Report, 22 January 2004; Vol. 416, c. 1392W.]" As everybody is aware, Sergeant Roberts’ death took place five days into the conflict on 24 March 2003, so there is a two-month difference. Does the Solicitor-General agree that two months was far too long to draw out the basic facts of the case and provide them to the widow in those tragic circumstances? Some people have said that the reason for the delay and for allowing the argument about enhanced body armour to run in the media was to cover up the fact that it was a case of friendly fire. There are many lessons to be learned about improving communications to stop rumours spreading, especially in the British press, which do not help the morale of the troops and do not help us in communicating exactly what happened.