'No silver bullet' to replace criticised army vehicles

Published on Monday 8 March 2010 21:04

THE deaths of British troops travelling in lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rovers have been described as "ghastly" by a top civil servant.

But Sir Bill Jeffrey of the Ministry of Defence, insisted there was no "silver bullet solution" that would have allowed earlier replacement of the vehicle.

Giving evidence to the Iraq inquiry, he also admitted the defence budget was so stretched that cuts had to be made over successive years.

Families of troops killed in Snatch Land Rovers blown up by roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan have repeatedly argued that the vehicles were not fit for purpose.

Sir Bill, who has been Permanent Secretary at the MoD since November 2005, said: "The fundamental problem is that for some purposes military commanders will always argue that a highly mobile, lightweight vehicle of that sort is operationally critical in some cases…

"That is little comfort to those who lost loved ones in Snatch Land Rovers. It is ghastly. I feel that very strongly."

He also admitted that the military started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with "an outdated stock of armoured vehicles", but said the situation had improved.