§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 1 September 2003,Official Report, column 915W, and the answer to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr. Hancock) of 15 September 2003, Official Report, column 509W, on Operation Telic, when he expects investigations into the fratricide incidents involving United Kingdom forces during Operation Telic to be complete; whether the families of the United Kingdom personnel involved are being advised of developments; and when the outcome of these inquiries will be made public. [134471]
§ Mr. IngramInvestigations into incidents of fratricide involving UK forces will take as long as necessary to uncover and accurately assess and interpret all the possible evidence.
The families of those involved will be kept informed as matters develop. All will have access to a specialist staff officer from the relevant service.
As I informed the House on 15 September 2003, Official Report, column 509W, we will make a summary of the reports' conclusions available, but only after all related proceedings are entirely complete. To do otherwise would be to risk prejudicing those other proceedings.