MoD compensation costs spiral

Tribespeople in Kenya mounted several claims against the MoD

The Ministry of Defence has been urged to do more to improve its handling of compensation claims after costs have spiralled fourfold in a decade.

A report by the government watchdog, the National Audit Office, says that the costs of compensation claims made by the MoD are on the increase.

It also says the Ministry should learn to say sorry more often, BBC defence correspondent Paul Adams reports.

In the early 1990s legal bills and successful claims cost the MoD £25 million.

By 2002, it had risen to almost a £100m.

Much of this is due to a dramatic increase in the levels of compensation awarded by the courts but the MoD spends about six times as much again on investigating and dealing with claims.

'Say sorry'

That is where the National Audit Office says the MoD could do more to keep costs down.

Its detailed report compliments the MoD for taking a number of steps to improve performance but it says that unrealistic initial offers and problems locating documents have led to delays and higher bills.

It criticises the fact that those responsible for preventing incidents in the first place are not the ones who end up paying compensation.

Budget holders, it says, have little financial incentive to invest in measures to reduce risk.

And it says that only 14% of claimants surveyed said they had ever received an apology.

Masai claim

Claims to the MoD range from civilians hurt during MoD exercises to duty of care claims from its own employees, for example for Gulf War syndrome.

Last year, a group of Kenyan herdsmen were awarded $7m (£4.5m) for those injured or killed on Kenyan army ranges used by British troops.

This year, the 14-year-old daughter of an airman was awarded £1m because she was born brain damaged after her mother was left on a RAF hospital trolley for an hour.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Kenyan tribeswomen were awarded British legal aid to pursue a claim against the MoD that they were raped by servicemen.

If successful, the action will cost the MoD millions of pounds.