The deaths of Scots servicemen abroad would be investigated north of the Border under plans set out yesterday by a Liberal Democrat MSP. Margaret Smith said her members' bill would prevent bereaved families having to travel to England to attend inquests.

Ms Smith, who represents Edinburgh West, said she wanted to amend the 1976 Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries Act so that fatal accident inquiries could be heard by a sheriff sitting in a Scottish court.

The MSP said the move would also speed up the hearings process and end the unnecessary suffering of those whose loved ones have been killed in battle.

Scots law does not allow fatal accident inquiries to be held into deaths abroad, while all military deaths overseas must be examined by a coroner in England. The large numbers of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to a backlog in the hearings process.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said it was exploring different ways of solving the problem.

He said: "We are aware that Scottish-based service personnel who are killed abroad become subject to the system of coroners' inquests because, for operational reasons, their remains are flown back to RAF airfields in England. There is no provision to allow for a fatal accident inquiry if the remains were flown back directly to Scottish airfields.

"The Scottish Government is continuing to explore with the UK Government how the investigations into the deaths of Scottish-based service personnel can be dealt with in a way which minimises the distress for bereaved families."