A POWERFUL Westminster committee today criticised the Ministry of Defence for failing to tackle the pension scandal highlighted by the partner of North Yorkshire SAS hero Brad Tinnion.

Bombardier Tinnion, from Harrogate, was killed rescuing British hostages in Sierra Leone.

He had lived with Anna Homsi for seven years, and she was pregnant with their daughter, Georgia, when he died.

But Ms Homsi was denied a war pension, because she was not married to Bombardier Tinnion.

The case provoked outrage and the MoD eventually offered Ms Homsi a special payment of £250,000.

However, the long-term issue of what should happen to other women who find themselves in the same situation as Ms Homsi has yet to be resolved.

In a report published today, the House of Commons Defence Committee criticised ministers for failing to tackle the issue.

MPs on the committee were disappointed it was not included in the current Review of Armed Forces' Pension and Compensation Arrangements.

They concluded: "The issue of unmarried partners is one which the armed forces can no longer ignore, and which should have been dealt with as part

of the original reviews.

"We expect to see appropriate provision included in the final pension and compensation proposals which the MoD brings forward in the autumn."

The MoD said it was re-examining the issue of extending benefits to unmarried partners.

A spokesman said it first needed to discover the "extent of the problem". "We do not have a measure of the scale of this, other than we know it is a reality," he said.

The MoD is carrying out a survey of 5,000 unmarried and separated armed forces personnel to identify "social and domestic trends".

Officials also need to establish an exact definition of which unmarried partners should be entitled to pension benefits.

When the cash offer was made to Ms Homsi, the MoD said it reflected her "unique circumstances".

Officials said it was non-negotiable and should not be seen as a precedent for other unmarried partners

Bombardier Tinnion was posthumously honoured for his role in helping rescue 11 soldiers held hostage by rebels in the west African country in September 2000.

Updated: 11:19 Thursday, May 09, 2002