For Queen and Country?

Soldier Phillip Hewett who was killed in July 2005

The armed forces minister has said the government should have acted sooner to deal with the backlog of inquests for soldiers killed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram MP said that long delays have caused distress to families.

He said: "I have not been happy with the wait. It's something that should have been addressed earlier on.

"It has now been addressed because I think the pain which is out there is deepened by the length of time that families have to wait.

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The minister was interviewed by Panorama for a film about four British soldiers killed in each year of the war in Iraq and the reactions of their relatives to the war.

Read more about the soldiers featured in Panorama

Read Panorama reporter Jane Corbin's story

Sue Smith's son Phillip Hewett was a soldier with the Staffordshire regiment until he was killed in July 2005.

The inquest was finally heard in January, 18 months after his death.

She said: "The families are treated like we don't matter. It's just a soldier. He was a soldier for three years. He was my son for 21.

"I think people have got to realise that it doesn't go away. This is like Ground Hog Day. Until that inquest, we don't know anything at all, and some parents have waited three years. I think it's absolutely cruel."

The Oxfordshire coroner handles the majority of military deaths as their bodies are flown back to RAF Brize Norton.

But a backlog means that more than fifty families are still waiting to hear details of how their relatives died, some as long as three years ago.

Last year the Department for Constitutional Affairs which is responsible for the court system announced it was providing extra resources for the Oxfordshire coroner to try to speed things up.

Asked by Panorama's Jane Corbin whether he regrets the way things have been handled, Mr Ingram said: "I think we should have acted as a government sooner and better in all of this."

For Queen and Country? will be aired on BBC One and on this site on Monday 19 February at 2030.