not wanting to sound crass , but since when has it been necessary for the PM to write a personal condolence letter to each family of a dead serviceman (apart from a sense of guilt) . Did Thatcher do it during the Falklands/Malvinas war ? or any of the other PMs during, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaya, Aden , Suez, Bosnia or the guys blown up in the King David hotel .
