Coroner Service
Justice
Written answers and statements, 5 November 2009
Robert Key (Salisbury, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons inquests into the deaths of Scottish service personnel overseas are held by HM Coroner for Wiltshire.
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
There is no provision in the Scottish legal system for coroners' inquests and fatal accident inquiries cannot be held into deaths outwith Scotland. However, we are committed to ensuring that the death of every serviceman or woman overseas is subject to an independent inquiry and therefore inquests into the deaths of Scotland-based service personnel in military operations overseas are conducted by the coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon. We recognise the burden this places on bereaved families, in having to travel to Wiltshire to attend inquests. As a result, earlier this year UK Ministers met with Scottish Ministers to ask them to agree that we should enable fatal accident inquiries to be held in Scotland into the deaths abroad of service personnel on active service, where the bereaved family is based in Scotland. The Government have subsequently amended the Coroners and Justice Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to facilitate this.