Army sorry for keeping body parts of soldiers

THE Army has apologised after it admitted that the body parts and tissue samples of 30 soldiers killed in Afghanistan were kept without the permission of their families.

It emerged that six body parts and more than 50 tissue samples were retained by the Royal Military Police in locations in the south of England.

The discovery prompted an immediate investigation. Yesterday the Army was trying to get in touch with members of the soldiers’ families to apologise and clarify what had happened.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said it would be “inappropriate” to reveal the identities of the soldiers whose body parts had been kept, but it admitted that one of the samples dated back to 2002. “We owe a huge apology to the families involved here and those who will now be feeling stressful even if it doesn’t affect them,” Major General James Everard said.

The remains were discovered last month when a new manager was appointed at the Military Police’s Special Investigations Branch (SIB), it was reported.

Officials are trying to identify and inform the families affected while an urgent investigation has been launched, an Army spokesman said.

The body parts were reportedly found at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, while the tissue samples – which were kept on laboratory slides for matching or identifying the dead soldiers – were discovered at the SIB’s headquarters at Bulford Garrison in Wiltshire.

A Royal British Legion spokesman said: “Human remains must be treated with utmost respect and accountability, not only to protect the dignity and feelings of service families, but also to preserve the integrity of the
 inquest process.