David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his Department’s policy that DNA samples should be taken when the remains of British soldiers who died in World War One are recovered.

Mark Lancaster

When remains thought to be of a British Serviceman are located, DNA samples may be taken if there is a realistic chance of a positive match to living descendants.

With over 300,000 British and Commonwealth personnel who died in World War One still having no known grave, the chances of one individual being linked to recovered remains alone are extremely remote.

Whilst extensive efforts are made to positively identify any recovered remains, these must first concentrate on forensic analysis of the remains, artefacts and clothing recovered, along with examination of documentary records such as Regimental War Diaries. Only once this work has identified a relatively small group cohort of likely names would DNA testing prove practical.