'Outgunned by the Taleban'

Published on Friday 15 February 2008 21:12

BRITISH troops are being sent to their deaths because they do not have basic equipment to fight the enemy, a coroner who investigated the death of an officer killed in Afghanistan has warned.

Captain James Philippson, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, died in a firefight where the British troops were "totally outgunned by the Taleban", an inquest heard yesterday. His death was squarely blamed on the Ministry of Defence, rather than the enemy fighters, by assistant Oxford coroner Andrew Walker.

In a separate inquest yesterday, the Wiltshire coroner, David Masters, demanded a review of armed-forces spending as he delivered his conclusions on the deaths of Lance Sergeant Chris Casey and Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, killed in Iraq.

The damning double verdict was seized on by politicians, who have heaped pressure on Gordon Brown to ensure that British troops in future are not overpowered by "rag-tag" insurgents and Taleban fighters.

In about eight weeks, 1,300 Scottish troops are due to head to Afghanistan.

Mr Philippson's father blamed Gordon Brown when Chancellor for under-funding troops.

In Oxford, the coroner said that Capt Philippson's death in the lawless Helmand province had been "unforgivable" because of a lack of machine guns, night-vision goggles and grenade launchers.

The inquest heard how the British troops were outgunned by Taleban fighters, and vital equipment did not arrive even after his death.

Mr Walker said: "They (the soldiers] were defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment. To send soldiers into a combat zone without basic equipment is unforgivable, inexcusable and a breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them."

He recorded a narrative verdict in which he said Capt Philippson was unlawfully killed.

Witnesses testified how the shortage of basic kit had had a "profound" impact on their ability to fight. Major Johnny Bristow, Capt Philippson's commander, said the unit had been "totally outgunned" by Taleban forces.

He said "it would have made a hell of a difference" if they had had Minimi machine guns and "under-slung" grenade launchers for rifles. There were also just a few night-vision kits between 30 men.

Capt Philippson, 29, was shot in the head as he tried to save stricken comrades on 11 June, 2006, while deployed near the town of Sangin.

He had been sent to rescue a patrol that had come under attack while trying to recover a downed spy drone.

Tony Philippson, Capt Philippson's father, said the Taleban had better equipment that night than his son's unit.

On who was to blame, he said: "This is not just the MoD, it is the Treasury and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, now Prime Minister, the miserable and parsimonious Gordon Brown." He vowed to pursue the MoD until someone was held accountable.

In the deployment to Helmand, British forces had been sent without machine guns and had to leave behind grenade launchers as they had no mountings for their Land Rovers.

The result was "a bunch of terrorists outgunning the British Army on two occasions on the same night," Mr Philippson said.

A board of inquiry report into Capt Philippson's death by the Ministry of Defence this week admitted there was an "obvious shortage of mission-essential equipment" but largely blamed a failure of operational tactics. It

recommended no disciplinary action should be taken. The MoD last night said: "It was deeply regrettable that a failure to follow the correct staff procedures between a requesting unit and headquarters Helmand Taskforce 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 second inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, heard the platoon commander in Iraq had asked for Mastiffs – heavily protected vehicles – on the day the two men died, but they were all in use elsewhere.

Lance Sergeant Casey, 27, and Lance Corporal Redpath, 22, of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, were escorting a supply convoy between Kuwait and Basra when they were hit by a home-made explosive device.

Recording verdicts that both men were unlawfully killed by terrorists, the coroner said he had "concerns" they had not been supplied with Mastiffs.

Mr Masters added: "It is my belief that it is imperative that our forces, whether they be in Iraq or Afghanistan, are given the best available equipment."

After the inquest Cpl Redpath's partner, Sharon Hawkes, 50, said: "It was government underfunding that killed him."

The coroners' frank warnings are the latest in a long line of criticism. Former defence chiefs and MPs have expressed ongoing concern about the state of equipping of the armed forces.

Politicians last night accused the government of betraying British forces. Angus Robertson, the SNP's Westminster leader, said the coroners' verdicts exposed "an absolute failure by the UK government in its duty of care for our brave servicemen and women".

He added: "People will be asking why our troops are apparently being 'totally outgunned' by a rag-tag band of Taleban insurgents. It seems tantamount to gross negligence by the MoD."

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said: "

While Tony Blair was planning for war, Gordon Brown was refusing to fund it and the MoD sent our forces to war without the appropriate equipment."

Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, added: "These stinging comments sum up the way our armed forces have been consistently betrayed by the government."

Bob Ainsworth, the armed-forces minister said "everyone accepted" there was a "massively improved situation" since 2006. He added however that there could be no guarantees on "perfect supply" of equipment.

Cynicism, disbelief and anger on army website

THE British Army Rumour Service, the irreverently named arrse.co.uk, is used by serving, former and future members of the British Army, their family and friends. Comments posted on the website yesterday after the inquest ruling included:

"Shame it takes so long for these things to come out, by which time equipment issues have moved on and it really does no-one any good."

"The one thing I can't understand is that, while Mr Walker (the coroner] constantly and correctly criticises MoD, no-one is ever held responsible. Nor does he, apparently, draw parallels between this and other cases – or rather, I think he does but isn't permitted to speak his mind."

"How many more?"

"Whose responsibility is it to act on a coroner's report – is there even any question of illegality raised? Negligence even?"

"It is probably up to the families to sue for compensation. MoD will probably settle out of court. I hope in this case they are brought to book."

"The only way to get accountability is through the courts."

"Is there no way of bringing (Gordon] Brown to account? Not just for his refusal to fund the military properly but for his other errors? Can the man continue to exist unscathed, despite his appalling conduct at the top of government over the last 10 and three- quarter years? How can he be stopped?"

"I'd be amazed if Brown is still here by the end of the year."

Keeping an eye on enemy at all times no matter the weather

THEY weigh just over three kilograms and are barely bigger than an encyclopedia. But laser eyes, the army's newest equipment, will allow front-line troops to target the enemy in all weathers, day and night, up to three miles away.

Unlike binoculars, the Joint Targeting Acquisition System (J-TAS) combines a GPS system for generating map locations, a laser targeting sight and thermal imaging in a single unit.

The cutting-edge technology is to be supplied by Thales UK's optronics site in Glasgow, which employs 530 staff, who beat stiff overseas competition to win the 30 million contract.

Unveiling the equipment at the factory yesterday, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said it would save thousands of lives. "The ability to see and target accurately at night gives our troops on operations a boost to their capabilities," he said.

The device is designed to withstand harsh battlefield conditions. It can be used by hand on the move. Past systems had to be placed on a tripod.

Alex Dorrian, the chief executive of Thales, said of the J-TAS system:

"For the soldier, the issue is when they are out in the field, they have a pack on and a lot of equipment with him … so miniaturisation is crucial."

Serjeant Richard Bennett, of 3 Rifles artillery battalion based in Edinburgh, who will deploy to Afghanistan later this year, welcomed the new technology.

"It's going to take a lot of the guesswork, old-style map and compass, out of the equation and it's lighter and smaller," he said.

"It will also speed things up. With a map and compass you've got to be precise and it takes time to get it right, whereas with this you just press and click, get the information and get it over the net as soon as you can and hopefully it will save lives.

It is a vital piece of equipment."

Some 700 J-TAS systems are to be made initially and they are expected to be in use by the end of this year, though some military units are using pre-production versions.

Thales took on 25 specialists to develop the system and 25 to produce it. A new contract means the company's staff in Glasgow is expected to grow to about 580 this year.

VITAL AID THAT LIGHTENS SOLDIERS' DARKNESS

NIGHT vision goggles (NVG) use infrared light to amplify what the human eye can naturally see. The sets cost about 1,000 each and the army board of inquiry report stated the commanding officer had requested 48 sets six weeks before the operation in which Captain Philippson died.

According to the inquest, six British soldiers had night vision goggles during the operation. Two were given American-made head mounted night vision goggles, but the bracket for mounting them on British helmets had not been procured. The soldiers wore them around their necks.

The other four were given British-made Common Weapon Systems, a weapon-mounted night vision system.

More than 5,500 head-mounted units are in use by the army, according to a 2004 answer to a UK parliamentary question. A further 13,000 are weapons-mounted sights.

A PIECE OF KIT THAT PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

MORE than 40 countries are said to use the Minimi light machine gun. Fed by belts of 5.56mm bullets, one is deployed per four-man fire team. It has a range of 800m and can fire up to 1,000 rounds a minute.

The weapon is described as being able to do what a rifle cannot: deliver a sustained, high-volume of fire at a target. It can fire up to 10,000 rounds a week in combat – a rifle might fire 20,000 rounds in its lifetime.

First developed in the 1970s by the Belgian company FN Herstal, the name is a contraction of "mini" and "Mi", which itself is short for the French word mitrailleuse, which was the world's first machine gun.

The weapon weighs 7.1kg and is just under 92cm long. FN Herstal describes it as having "demonstrated outstanding reliability in all combat conditions".

The Minimi machine guns were not deployed during the 2006 incident because they weren't available at the time.

A WEAPON WITH A BIG NAME TO MATCH ITS IMPACT

AS the name suggests, the SA80 Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL), fires rounds from a mount under the main SA80 rifle, originally designed in the 1980s. An estimated 350,000 have been built since.

The SA80 originally had a poor reputation among soldiers as being unreliable and fragile. The MoD's website refers to them as "the most reliable weapons of their type in the world".

One UGL is supposed to be issued per infantry fire team or six per platoon, allowing them to launch high explosives, smoke or illuminating rounds, all while continuing to fire the rifle. The ministry also plans to extend the range of the Heckler & Koch AG-36 40mm grenade launcher beyond 350 metres and allow the UGL to fire buckshot rounds for "close-quarter battle". A variant is used by the German and Dutch armies.

The UGL was not available for soldiers during the 2006 incident.