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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| More funds for Iraq war inquests | More funds for Iraq war inquests |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Extra funding has been agreed for one of 32 coroners holding inquests into the deaths of military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
| The Ministry of Defence said it did not want a backlog of inquests to build up for Wiltshire coroner David Masters, although there was no current backlog. | |
| An extra deputy coroner and coroner's officer will now be taken on. | An extra deputy coroner and coroner's officer will now be taken on. |
| A row had broken out after the Oxfordshire coroner was given extra funds to deal with his backlog. | |
| Mr Masters told the BBC in September that he was confident that extra government money would mean no delays for military inquests in Wiltshire. | Mr Masters told the BBC in September that he was confident that extra government money would mean no delays for military inquests in Wiltshire. |
| 'Urgent need' | |
| "With that funding, I don't intend to allow any backlog to build up," he said. | "With that funding, I don't intend to allow any backlog to build up," he said. |
| Until April, the Oxfordshire coroner handled deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan because the bodies were flown back to RAF Brize Norton in the county. | |
| At the end of last year, Oxford had a backlog of more than 100 cases - to the distress of many relatives. | |
| But from April, repatriation flights were switched to RAF Lyneham because of a two-year upgrade of facilities at Brize Norton, meaning that the inquests became the responsibility of the Wiltshire coroner. | |
| A Royal British Legion spokesman said: "Last month, we identified the urgent need to address the distressing backlog of coroners' inquests, and this is a step in the right direction. | |
| "Both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence should be congratulated on making additional resources available, but this is not before time." |