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Fatal Shootings (Iraq)

It is important that families are given as much information as is reasonable as early as possible and that the information is accurate, which means that there must be some degree of investigation of it. We have already heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) that sometimes there are inconsistencies in statements and all sorts of issues arise, especially in a conflict zone. There were difficulties in returning to the site to gather forensic evidence. I am sorry that Mrs. Roberts had to wait so long for a description of what had happened to her husband. That is obviously distressing, but it is important that when a description is given it is as accurate as possible, which requires investigation and that requires time. It would have been even worse, however, if Mrs. Roberts had been given one explanation and then over time, as new evidence emerged, it was changed time and again. I suspect that that would lead to even greater distress. The media do not have to be accurate when they report things. The Government and the Ministry of Defence at least try to be as accurate as we reasonably can in the information we give. It is important that time is taken. The media want the story tomorrow, but the Government have to get the full story out as accurately as possible, which may take a bit more time and in some cases, such as this one, a substantial degree of extra time.