Scottish aid worker's death probed

Reports have claimed that a member of US Special Forces could face disciplinary action over his involvement in the rescue attempt during which captive Linda Norgrove died on 9 October.

Although Foreign Secretary William Hague reported that the 36-year-old Scottish aid worker had been “killed at the hands of her captors in the course of a rescue attempt”, a more detailed examination of the evidence has subsequently cast doubt over this version of events.

On the Monday following the failed mission, Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking at a Downing Street press conference, announced that General David Petraeus, commander of all ISAF forces in Afghanistan, had informed him “new information had come to light about the circumstances surrounding Linda’s death”.

He continued: “That evidence and subsequent interviews with the personnel involved suggest that Linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault. However, this is not certain and a full US-UK investigation will now be launched.”

Speaking to the House of Commons that afternoon, the Foreign Secretary added: “Every indication we had over the weekend suggested that Linda had been killed by the explosion of a suicide vest worn by one of her captors.”

General Petraeus visited the Prime Minister at Downing Street three days later and assured Mr Cameron that this matter was a "personal priority" for him. 

In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London the following day, General Petraeus himself said: “This morning I talked with Mr Norgrove and conveyed to him not only the most sincere condolences but also an update on the investigation that is ongoing.

“This is an active investigation and I don’t want to speculate. It was disturbing, clearly, not to have the correct facts that morning after the operation was conducted and to be provided with those later after the taskforce commander conducted further examination, including watching about six different videos of the operation.”

The Foreign Secretary is expected to issue a further update on the military investigation to MPs in the next fortnight.

News of a further kidnapping, this time of a British security consultant, emerged early last week. However, a spokesperson for Save the Children was able to confirm on Wednesday that: “our colleague Frans Barnard, who was abducted in Somalia on Thursday whilst working for Save the Children, has been released by his kidnappers. He is now being moved to a more secure place in Somalia.

“The release was negotiated by the clan elders and we are extremely grateful to them.

“We have worked in Somalia for 40 years and we will continue to work there to help some of the most vulnerable children in the world get proper food, healthcare and an education.”

A recent report by the organisation on the changing nature of humanitarianism highlighted how a blurring of the lines between politics, security and delivering aid was one of the major challenges facing humanitarian workers, in a year that is set to be the biggest on record for emergency response.

The report, At a Crossroads: Humanitarianism for the Next Decade, said: “As aid agencies continue to work in politically sensitive areas and reach people in countries that have been torn apart by conflict, they are at risk of being used by either side as a political tool.”