Poor kit ‘should not have been tolerated’

SOLDIERS were desperately ill-equipped in battle because of the headlong rush to war and inadequate response to problems in Iraq, said Sir John.

Defence chiefs were too slow to react to the threat of roadside bombs, and delays in replacing vulnerable Snatch Land Rovers ‘should not have been tolerated’.

Confirming the fears of grieving families, the report found the Ministry of Defence planned the invasion in a hurry, leaving soldiers with the Land Rovers known as ‘ mobile coffins’ and a lack of basic kit.

The inquiry chief said the military failed to identify those risks with ministers – and equipment could have saved British soldiers’ lives.

Instead of concentrating on Iraq, the MoD began to focus on Afghanistan. But it had ‘ insufficient resources’ to do so, which meant helicopters and spying assets were taken away from soldiers in Basra.

The risks of running parallel operations from 2006 had not been properly thought through, Sir John found. The ‘serious shortfalls’ in kit, protection against chemical and biological attacks, and ammunition had grave consequences for soldiers.

The report cited the death of Sergeant Steven Roberts, who was killed in March 2003 after a lack of protective vests prompted him to lend his to a colleague.

‘It was judged that his death could have been prevented if he had still had his body armour’, it said.

Last night his mother Marion Chapman told the Mail: ‘The report said it all. Steve’s legacy is that all soldiers have ECBA [body armour] as standard issue.’