Inquests into Scots killed at war to be held in Scotland

New legislation to bring inquiries into the deaths of Scottish military personnel abroad north of the Border will be in place next year, an MP has said.

Frank Doran, MP for Aberdeen North, said he first took the matter up with the Ministry of Justice after being contacted by two of his constituents, Diane and Walter Douglas, whose son Lance Corporal Allan Douglas was shot dead by a sniper while on patrol in Al Amarah, Iraq, in January 2006.

The 22-year-old was the 99th soldier to die in Iraq.

Currently, the system of inquests into the deaths of all service personnel are held at Coroners’ Courts in England, but the new legislation would mean fatal accident inquiries could be held in Scotland.

Mr and Mrs Douglas had to travel to Oxford twice to attend the inquest into their son’s death. Mr Doran claims to have received “assurances” from the Ministry of Justice, which is said to be liaising with the Scottish Government and the Lord Advocate, that the legislation will be brought in to force in 2012.

He said: “I am disappointed that it has taken so long to implement this legislation.

“I expected that the Scottish Government would have understood how important this change is for grieving families. I hope that there are no further delays in bringing this legislation into force.”