Where the Ministry of Defence is legally represented at inquests no distinction is made between the Department and the three armed services. Legal representation for the Department will normally subsume individuals unless there is a conflict of interest between the position of the Department and that of the individual. In the event of such a conflict the individual would be responsible for the cost if they chose to be legally represented.
On one occasion in the past two years, on the basis of legal advice, MOD provided separate legal assistance for two individuals even though there was no conflict of interest.
During the period 22 June 2004 to 21 June 2006 the MOD was legally represented at 171 inquests as follows:
Inquest £ Sapper Passmore July 2004 18,417.07 Cpl Rees August 2004 6,835.83 Mrs. Heather Bell October 2004 56,798.03 Cpl Pears November 2004 15,236.16 LBdr Walmsley November 2004 10,589.17 MEM Benton February 2005 20,615.50 Lt Christie May 2005 22,092.90 Pte Shipley August 2005 14,901.56 Cdre White1 October 2005 7,910.54 April 2006 Lt Col Van der Horst November 2005 26,039.94 LBdr Wilson December 2005 7,501.54 Cpl Neill November 2005 2,751.85 WO2 White January 2006 29,774.50 Mr Hugh Paton February 2006 94,320.80 Pte Collinson February 2006 152,343.46 Sgt Hamilton Jewell March 2006 72,815.61 Cpl Aston Cp Long Cpl Miller LCpl Hyde LCpl Keys 1 Two inquests were held in Gibraltar and England