MoD sorry for soldier medal error

Lt Shearer's mother said she wasn't angry but wished the MoD had checked

The Ministry of Defence has apologised for a mistake in the inscription on a medal for a soldier killed in Iraq.

Lt Richard Shearer, 26, of Nuneaton, was killed by a bomb in July 2005.

His mother Maureen, 60, received an Elizabeth Cross on Friday inscribed with '2LT R A Shearer, Staffords' - but her son did not have a middle name.

Last week, Gordon Brown apologised after a mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan complained he made mistakes in a handwritten letter of condolence.

The mother of Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20 - who died in Helmand in October - accepted the apology.

Maureen Shearer received an apology from the Ministry of Defence

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) apologised for the Elizabeth Cross error relating to Lt Shearer.

He said: "The MoD would like to apologise for any distress caused to Mrs Shearer and we will be investigating how this mistake occurred.

"We will of course be sending Mrs Shearer a new Elizabeth Cross."

Mrs Shearer, 60 - who is a retired teacher - said: "The silly thing was that they got his name right in some cases, but on the actual items - the medal and the scroll - they had an A in it.

"I rang them up and explained what had happened and they told me I would have to write in and explain, and then someone told me the MoD would probably want the items returned before they could reissue them.

"It upset me because you're sensitive at that kind of time."

Coffin error

She said it was also upsetting that the medal's arrival coincided with reports that bonuses of around £47m had been paid to MoD civil servants so far this year.

The Elizabeth Cross medal was launched in July this year

Last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would "examine" the bonuses awarded.

"I wasn't angry, but on top of the MOD bonuses story I thought can't they just double check?" she said.

"It was lovely and the Elizabeth Cross is lovely but they should just take some time to check," she added.

"With students I always took the time to double-check their names were right."

She said when her son's coffin was flown back from Iraq the wrong date of birth was on its plaque.

"It brought back the memory of when he came back," she said.

"The whole thing was horrible. It wasn't a huge thing but it made it all even more horrible.

"He is so special to me so you just think, 'get it right'."

The new Elizabeth Cross medal was introduced in July and is granted to the next of kin of armed forces personnel killed on operations or as a result of terrorism.