07-02-2005 23:49									#1
	Ministry of Defence 'liable' for soldier's death Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4243613.stm

quote: The Ministry of Defence is to accept liability for the death of the first British soldier killed in Iraq, his widow's solicitor has said. Tank commander Sgt Steve Roberts died nearly two years ago after being ordered to hand over his body armour. Widow Samantha, 34, from Shipley, West Yorkshire has campaigned to find out the circumstances of Sgt Roberts's death near Basra on 24 March 2003. He was shot during a riot in Az Zubayr just days after the conflict began. Mrs Roberts said she was "pleased" the MoD were now prepared to admit liability for her husband's death and she hoped compensation could be agreed without recourse to the courts. She suggested the decision in her case could "pave the way for other families of service personnel and soldiers to receive compensation for incidents in Iraq that do not happen in the heat of battle". Detailed inquiry Mrs Roberts' solicitor, Geraldine McCool, said: "We don't know why the admission has come because we're not privy to these investigations that are going on. "What I do know is that the Ministry of Defence has looked at this in a great amount of detail. "They've had people out there, they've been looking over it forensically and they indicated last week that they would be admitting liability on Sam's case." Ms McCool said defence officials had argued that Cornwall-born Sgt Roberts' death was covered by Combat Immunity, where service personnel are killed in the heat of battle. "But there were lots of things happening in Iraq that were avoidable, even in a wartime situation," she said. Tapes An internal MoD report has established Sgt Roberts would have survived had he been wearing ceramic plates inside his flak jacket. Originally issued with the plates, he had given them to another soldier as his regiment did not have enough for everyone. Mrs Roberts subsequently received and apology from Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. That came after she released tapes of her husband in which he articulated concerns about equipment shortages. The MoD has confirmed they have written to Mrs Roberts but the spokesman would not say what the letter contained.

Should the MoD have accepted responsibility or does signing up for the military mean you take on that responsibility yourself?

Just thought it was an article that might provoke some interesting ideas.

	08-02-2005 00:03									#2
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Difficult question.

On one hand, I'd say signing up for the military should imply certain risks. But if it turns out the MoD put him in unnecessary danger... like being told to hand over his body armour, then they probably should be held accountable for that.

	08-02-2005 01:28									#3
	Re: Ministry of Defence 'liable' for soldier's death Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Zulu Elephant http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4243613.stm Should the MoD have accepted responsibility or does signing up for the military mean you take on that responsibility yourself?

When you sign up for the army, you don't sign up for the incompetence of the MOD. I used to work for the MOD, and it's a shocking organisation.

I hope they get their arses sued off. It might shock them into giving our armed forces the service they deserve and should expect.

	08-02-2005 02:17									#4
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

they got the $$. sue away.

	08-02-2005 02:46									#5
	Inflate your Upload Space

I don't like the idea of the courts deciding they're competent to decide whether something was "unnecessary danger" and review military decisions.

	09-02-2005 17:40									#6
	Re: Re: Ministry of Defence 'liable' for soldier's death Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp I used to work for the MOD, and it's a shocking organisation. It might shock them into giving our armed forces the service they deserve and should expect.

I agree, I worked with the MoD as a consultant, and shocking is about as mild an adjective as I would use.

Non-Brits might not be aware of the scandals in the early phase of the war / occupation about failure to supply adequate clothes, boots, weapons, radios etc in the British military, all of which were denied by the Government at the time.

Most businesses talk about, and experience, a learning curve, where, the longer / more often you do something, the better you get at it. The MoD or its predecessors having been buying supplies and equipment (and battleships, notably) for about 600 years, and continue to get worse at it. It costs military lives and billions of taxpayers £££, but still they scramble to find their fundaments with both hands.

/ Rant ends