§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy in relation to informing (a) relatives and (b) the House of Commons about fatalities in times of war known by the Ministry of Defence to be the result of action by Her Majesty's forces.
§ Mr. Stanley[pursuant to the reply, 2 December 1986, c. 600]: Fatalities to British service men arising as a result of action by our own forces arise very infrequently. Every incident requires very careful investigation to establish the facts as accurately as possible, after which each case is treated according to its particular circumstances, and the need to alleviate distress. Normally the operational commander will inform the next of kin as fully as possible of the relevant details once the correct facts have been established beyond all reasonable doubt except in exceptional circumstances, such as the needs of security or the risk of adding unjustifiably to distress. He will normally therefore have discretion as to the manner and timing of his explanation. Out of consideration for the relatives it is not our normal practice to give publicity to 693W the details or circumstances of death in such cases unless the relevant information is already public knowledge or is likely to become so.