§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Royal Military Police will provide on the ground assistance in the search for the missing ITN crew members Fred Nerac and Hussein Osman; [116226]
(2) if he will make a statement on the latest reports he has received on missing cameraman Fred Nerac and local translator Hussein Osman. [116224]
§ Dr. MoonieSubject to the constraints of the security situation on the ground, British troops in southern Iraq, including members of the Royal Military Police (RMP), have been providing ITN investigators with whatever assistance they reasonably could in trying to establish what has happened to Fred Nerac and Hussein Osman.
The Ministry of Defence's position has always been that the RMP would only undertake a formal investigation into the disappearance of the two men if they had sufficient grounds to suspect that a war crime might have been committed. Following new information 445W that has recently come to light, however, the RMP Special Investigations Branch will now investigate the disappearance of Fred Nerac and Hussein Osman.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what representations he has received from the United States regarding the disappearance of Mr. Nerac and Mr. Osman; [116228]
(2) if he will hold an investigation into the shooting incident during which Mr. Nerac and Mr. Osman disappeared; and what requests he has received to do so. [116227]
§ Dr. MoonieOfficials in the Ministry of Defence and British troops in southern Iraq have been in close contact with representatives of the United States concerning the disappearance of Mr. Nerac and Mr. Osman and, particularly, the original shooting incident in which Terry Lloyd was killed and the two men went missing.
The US military are formally investigating this incident. They have requested our assistance and we have co-operated fully with them on this.