The grieving widow of a soldier who was killed in the line of duty five years ago has spoken of her disgust at the financial advice company who used an image of her husband's funeral without her permission.
Heidi Kirkpatrick, whose husband Jamie was killed in Afghanistan during a firefight with Taliban forces, was horrified to realise a poignant moment from her late husband's funeral was used by US-based company Net Finance Relief in order to advertise life insurance.
The image of Heidi carrying a white rose as she led her husband's funeral cortege was republished by the company on their Facebook page under the heading: "New policy in UK (over 45 only): If you don't have life insurance, read this."
Speaking of her heartbreak in light of the company's decision to use her photo, Heidi told The Mirror: "My husband was killed fighting for his country and now his memory is being used to try and line someone else's pocket."
Commenting on the controversy, Net Finance Relief acknowledged the upset caused to Heidi and her family, but insisted the image was used in error, asserting: "One of our employees thought the photo was licensed for commercial use. This was not the case."
Offering their condolences to Corporal Kirkpatrick's grief stricken family, they continued: "We take our mistake very seriously and honour the veterans who have served and paid the ultimate price in order to protect our freedom."
The company have asserted that they have since rectified the issue, explaining: "The images in question have been permanently removed and the employee in question has been reprimanded."
Asserting that they have reviewed their internal policies in order to prevent further errors of this nature from happening again, the company said: "We would like to publicly and personally apologise to Heidi Kirkpatrick and her family."
