Dreadful situation of dead soldier's baby

THE baby daughter of a Warrington soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this year is being denied compensation by the Ministry of Defence.
Private Daniel Wade was killed at the age of 20 on March 6 – three months before his daughter, Lexie-Mai, was born.
But the MOD is refusing to pay compensation to her mother, Emma Hickman, because they say it cannot be proved that Private Wade was the father.
Warrington South MP David Mowat raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons – and the Prime Minister has promised to intervene in what he says is a “dreadful situation.”
Private Wade, of 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, lived at Latchford and was a former pupil of Sir Thomas Boteler CE High School.
He was engaged to Emma when he was killed alongside five comrades in a Taliban bomb attack.
Mr Mowat told the Commons: “The Army will not accept paternity without evidence; nor will it release the DNA without a court order. As a consequence, Lexie-Mai receives nothing.”
He called on the Prime Minister to amend MOD rules so that the Army routinely holds DNA, as happens in other countries, such as the United States.
David Cameron said he was “shocked” by the case and said he would to everything he could to expedite a conclusion to it.
He added: “This is an absolutely dreadful situation and it cannot be allowed to continue.
“The Ministry of Defence is aware of it, and it raises some complicated legal issues, but the reaction from colleagues around the House shows that we have to move quickly and get this sorted.”
Private Wade had only been in Afghanistan for only a few weeks when he was killed when a Warrior armoured vehicle was blown up by a massive improvised explosive device in Helmand province.
Pictured: Mr Mowat and, right, Private Wade on a visit to Boteler High School.