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LONDON (Reuters) - The mother of a young British soldier killed in Iraq says she intends to sue the Ministry of Defence for negligence because it failed to supply him with hi-tech defensive equipment.
Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed in Basra when his convoy was hit by a bomb in June. He is one of 65 British soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the U.S.-led war in March, 2003.
Gentle's mother Rose said she believes her son's life could have been saved if his patrol had been equipped with an electronic signal jamming device to stop the bomb being detonated.
"I am planning to sue the Ministry and I'm putting it down to neglect," she told Reuters on Monday.
"They've definitely got something to answer for because I believe my son would be alive today if he had this equipment."
The Guardian newspaper on Monday quoted the family's barrister, John Cooper, as saying he was optimistic the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had a case to answer.
"The MoD has a duty to provide soldiers with the equipment to protect themselves and carry out their duties with the minimum risk to themselves," Cooper told the Guardian.
"If they do not provide that equipment, then that is a breach of their duty," Cooper said.
An MoD spokesman said he could not talk in detail about defensive equipment provided to soldiers.
"We will obviously have to wait for any action Mrs Gentle wishes to take," the spokesman said.
"We extend our sympathies to the family."
Gentle and her daughter Maxine, 14, stormed out of a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in disgust last week after delivering a letter demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.
Gentle said Prescott had talked "a lot of rubbish" and that she had felt "sick" after receiving a condolence letter from Prime Minister Tony Blair -- seven weeks after losing her son.
The MoD came under fire during the war from lawmakers who said it failed to supply British troops with some vital equipment, including body armour.
The criticisms were supported by Britain's public spending watchdog last December, which said troops lacked key pieces of equipment when they were deployed to Iraq.
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So, what do you think?
This was taken from Yahoo News, by the way.
Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed in Basra when his convoy was hit by a bomb in June. He is one of 65 British soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the U.S.-led war in March, 2003.
Gentle's mother Rose said she believes her son's life could have been saved if his patrol had been equipped with an electronic signal jamming device to stop the bomb being detonated.
"I am planning to sue the Ministry and I'm putting it down to neglect," she told Reuters on Monday.
"They've definitely got something to answer for because I believe my son would be alive today if he had this equipment."
The Guardian newspaper on Monday quoted the family's barrister, John Cooper, as saying he was optimistic the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had a case to answer.
"The MoD has a duty to provide soldiers with the equipment to protect themselves and carry out their duties with the minimum risk to themselves," Cooper told the Guardian.
"If they do not provide that equipment, then that is a breach of their duty," Cooper said.
An MoD spokesman said he could not talk in detail about defensive equipment provided to soldiers.
"We will obviously have to wait for any action Mrs Gentle wishes to take," the spokesman said.
"We extend our sympathies to the family."
Gentle and her daughter Maxine, 14, stormed out of a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in disgust last week after delivering a letter demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.
Gentle said Prescott had talked "a lot of rubbish" and that she had felt "sick" after receiving a condolence letter from Prime Minister Tony Blair -- seven weeks after losing her son.
The MoD came under fire during the war from lawmakers who said it failed to supply British troops with some vital equipment, including body armour.
The criticisms were supported by Britain's public spending watchdog last December, which said troops lacked key pieces of equipment when they were deployed to Iraq.
- - - - - - - -
So, what do you think?
This was taken from Yahoo News, by the way.
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Hang on, an electric jamming device that stops bombs exploding?
Right.
Right.
Cyclone wrote:
> Hang on, an electric jamming device that stops bombs
> exploding?
>
> Right.
They do exist, bomb disposal units in the military carry them. However, if I remember rightly, these jamming devices only work in short bursts and are mainly for use whilst trying to deactivate or dispose of a bomb, they can jam signals for only a couple of minutes at best, and obviously you have to know there is a bomb in the first place. And you have to assume that it is a bomb triggered by a radio wave signal and not some other means like an internal clock, or even a fuse.
Which would have made no difference whatsoever in this case as they obviously did not know there was a bomb in place.
So yes, it is stupid but understandable that in their grief they want to blame someone for their loss - how withdrawing troops does anything for their loss I do not know, surely it means all the loss is in vain if we simply up sticks and leave to let the rebels and other terrorists have their own country? Hell why not just hand it over to Iran and be done with it eh?
We don't have a conscript army, everyone in it is there by choice. Which is why it is insane for people to make comments like "there would be no war if Blair's sons were in the army" (a comment made by that family) and similar has been made by Moore to US Senators for his Fahrenheit film. We don't have conscripts, nor do the Americans.
It's not on that our troops sometimes do not have what they need and should have, but in this case, going on the public facts, the only way this could have been prevented would be for them to be in something like a Warrior. In Northern Ireland the RUC, army and other security forces were plagued by such roadside devices and had little success combating them.
> Hang on, an electric jamming device that stops bombs
> exploding?
>
> Right.
They do exist, bomb disposal units in the military carry them. However, if I remember rightly, these jamming devices only work in short bursts and are mainly for use whilst trying to deactivate or dispose of a bomb, they can jam signals for only a couple of minutes at best, and obviously you have to know there is a bomb in the first place. And you have to assume that it is a bomb triggered by a radio wave signal and not some other means like an internal clock, or even a fuse.
Which would have made no difference whatsoever in this case as they obviously did not know there was a bomb in place.
So yes, it is stupid but understandable that in their grief they want to blame someone for their loss - how withdrawing troops does anything for their loss I do not know, surely it means all the loss is in vain if we simply up sticks and leave to let the rebels and other terrorists have their own country? Hell why not just hand it over to Iran and be done with it eh?
We don't have a conscript army, everyone in it is there by choice. Which is why it is insane for people to make comments like "there would be no war if Blair's sons were in the army" (a comment made by that family) and similar has been made by Moore to US Senators for his Fahrenheit film. We don't have conscripts, nor do the Americans.
It's not on that our troops sometimes do not have what they need and should have, but in this case, going on the public facts, the only way this could have been prevented would be for them to be in something like a Warrior. In Northern Ireland the RUC, army and other security forces were plagued by such roadside devices and had little success combating them.
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