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Afghanistan and Iraq deaths 'could have been prevented'

16/02/2008

Two separate inquests have heard that the deaths of British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq could have been prevented if they had been better equipped.

At the inquests into the deaths of three British soldiers, the government came under considerable attack for failing to support the men.

Andrew Walker, assistant coroner for Oxfordshire, accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of an unforgivable breach of soldiers' trust over the death of Captain James Philippson in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, David Masters, Wiltshire coroner, demanded a review of Government armed forces spending over the deaths of Lance Sergeant Chris Casey and Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath in Iraq.

Captain Philippson, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, died on June 11th 2006 during a firefight with the Taliban.

The inquest into his death heard that the regiment had repeatedly complained about a lack of proper equipment, especially night vision kit and weaponry.

Mr Walker declared a verdict in which he said Captain Philippson had been illegally killed.

The soldier's father Anthony Philippson after the inquest accused prime minister Gordon Brown for failing to fund the army during his time as chancellor.

"The Treasury and then chancellor, Gordon Brown, will be really to blame for what happened. The MoD was starved of cash by the chancellor," Mr Philippson said.

In response the MoD said in a statement: "It is deeply regrettable that a failure to follow the correct staff procedures between a requesting unit and headquarters resulted in a 25-day delay in providing night vision goggles.

"The department has accepted and implemented all of the Board of Inquiry's recommendations. Night vision goggles are standard issue for infantry soldiers in manoeuvre companies."

The inquiry into Lance Sergeant Casey, 27, and Lance Corporal Redpath, 22, of 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, also recorded verdicts of unlawfully killing.

They had been escorting a supply convoy between Kuwait and Basra when they were hit by a home-made explosive.

Mr Masters, the coroner, claimed that he had "concerns" that the men had not been supplied with Mastiffs.

Afterwards, Sharon Hawkes, Mr Redpath's partner claimed that underfunding by the government had led to the deaths.