Army families angry over will debacle
The grieving families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan face further upset as the wills of fallen loved ones become lost amid the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the services.
The last wishes of four Royal Marines are still missing, despite an urgent investigation by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). And the figure is expected to be higher across the entire Armed Services.
As well as having to cope with the death of a loved one, the dead men's grieving families are also having to deal with rifts between bereaved family members due to the mistakes of the MoD.
A broader inquiry has now been urged, with one MP accusing the Government of "bureaucratic incompetence bordering on cruelty".
The wills controversy is the latest levelled at the MoD, which has already faced angry claims that it sent servicemen to fight with inadequate equipment, poor reconnaissance vehicles and a lack of helicopters.
Now the Government stands accused of failing its duty to soldiers even after their death.
Twenty British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in July alone, bringing the total number of British servicemen and women killed in the country to 189.