THE long-term partners of British service personnel who are killed in the war against Iraq will qualify for pension payouts, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is due to signal today.

In a written Parliamentary statement, Mr Hoon is expected to assure servicemen and women that their partners will get financial help, even if they are unmarried.

The issue came to prominence in 2001 when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) refused a war widow's pension to Anna Homsi, the partner of SAS trooper Brad Tinnion, 28, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, who was killed in Sierra Leone.

The MoD eventually made a £250,000 one-off payment to Ms Homsi, but stopped short of reversing its policy.

Mr Hoon is likely to stress that any claim would be examined on its merits, with officials looking for signs of a permanent relationship, such as children or joint mortgages.

Payments would be on an ex-gratia basis, so would not create a potentially expensive precedent.

Last November, ministers confirmed that an extension of pension benefits to unmarried partners was under consideration.