THE level of compensation given to families of British troops who are killed in action is "appalling", according to Hereford MP Paul Keetch.

Dependants currently receive one-and-a-half times the soldiers' salary - £27,000 for a private earning £18,000 a year - in the UK. It will rise to four times their salary in April, but will not be backdated.

In America families are given a tax-free package of £270,000.