Coroners and Justice Bill

The right hon. Gentleman had the chance to make a speech, but he decided not to do so. In Scotland in particular, I pay tribute to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, who have worked hard to make this day possible, at the same time as undertaking a wholesale review of the fatal inquiry system. At Westminster, I had much contact with the previous Defence Secretary, the right hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne), and more recently with the Minister for the Armed Forces and the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), as part of formal and informal efforts to secure a change to current practice. All who have been involved in getting to this stage tonight have made a huge step forward in righting a wrong. Service families will finally be put first. These improvements to the inquest and inquiry systems are clearly too late for the families of Nimrod XV230, but their support and perseverance in the campaign to make these common-sense changes happen is a tribute to them, and it will be a stark improvement in the experience of the inquest system for families in the future. Shona Beattie, whose husband Flight Sergeant Stephen Beattie died aboard Nimrod XV230, said in advance of today's proceedings:""It is really good news that the Scottish Government has made substantial progress with the UK Ministry of Defence and these changes will become law."" She also said:""For decades, service families in Scotland have been overlooked, but this is changing. It is now time for the Scots legal system to play its role investigating overseas military deaths"" and that""I'm also pleased that other families will benefit from this. It's one positive issue that has come out of a tragic event."" For that reason alone, it would be fitting for the amendments to be agreed without Division tonight. The amendments are the only part of the Bill to have effect in Scotland. All the other provisions relate to England and Wales, and in part to Northern Ireland, and to the legal systems there. It is no surprise that I did not take part in the Public Bill Committee, which debated only those provisions of the Bill that affect England, Wales and Northern Ireland—[Interruption.]